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'It's like having a tighthead lock playing in the No12 jersey'
Harlequins assistant coach Jerry Flannery has paid Andre Esterhuizen an awesome tribute after the out-of-favour Springboks midfielder produced a powerhouse display to help the London club secure a dramatic late victory over Exeter Chiefs in the Gallagher Premiership on Saturday. The 27-year-old hasn’t been capped by his country since August 2019 but the English champions simply can’t get enough of the so-called ‘Agent of Chaos’ they have under contract through to 2025.
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Despite pressurising an Exeter side that played the entire second half with just 14 players following a red card for Alec Hepburn on the blow of half-time, Harlequins found themselves trailing 12-7 with less than two minutes remaining.
However, that scoreline was soon transformed into a thrilling 14-12 win, Esterhuizen sliding through the mud to score a converted Harlequins try in the corner after he caught a crossfield kick from Marcus Smith.
The centre then showcased his immense prowess in defence, turning over Exeter possession at the game’s final ruck to seal the win for Harlequins and ensure he was incredibly awarded the player of the match award for the third game in a row.
Amid the post-mortem, lineout and defence coach Flannery popped up on BT Sport to sing the praises of a talisman whose stats showed four carries, 26 metres, one turnover won and four gainline successes.
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“Look, the key for games like this is to make things a contest and Andre is a complete player,” enthused the coach about the South African. “His distribution, it is basically like having a tighthead lock playing in the 12 jersey who can catch and pass as good as anybody else. He has got a fantastic left foot on him as well. He has been outstanding for us. We are very, very lucky to have him.”
Esterhuizen was chuffed his efforts were recognised for the third weekend in succession, following on from his player of the match efforts versus Northampton and Gloucester. “I almost missed it [the turnover] just by milliseconds. To close the game out like that was pretty nice. I loved it.
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“I am loving life at the moment. I never get these (awards) so to get three in a row is something for me. I am just very grateful. A lot of credit to the team. They do all the hard work. Sometimes I just run in through the gaps, so credit to them.”
Asked how Harlequins had managed to keep their composure rather than buckle when in arrears against an opposition down a man following a tip tackle that resulted in Joe Marler landing on his head, Esterhuizen added: “Whenever there is a red card or something in a game, the team relaxes a bit.
“We just said we needed to up the focus, we need to put the pressure on them and keep them under that pressure. Alex (Dombrandt) spoke quite well under the posts, ‘Just stay calm, get there, trap them there, something will come. If we get the turnovers something will come’.
“It was a great game. It is always hard against Exeter. The weather didn’t play in anyone’s favour. A hard-fought victory. We let ourselves down a little bit in the second half when we had them on the ropes, just didn’t convert, but it is always great playing against them and always a tough challenge.”
- Click here to see the winning converted try from The Stoop
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Comments on RugbyPass
Wow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
1 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
12 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
1 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to comments