Andre Esterhuizen’s ability to multitask between the backs and forwards with ease has become a key tactical weapon for the world champions, attack coach Tony Brown said.
The barnstorming centre offered the Boks a lifeline last week when lock Lood de Jager was red-carded and SA beat France 32-17 in Paris in the second game of their European tour.
Next up for the Boks is a showdown against the resurgent Italian team in Turin on Saturday (kickoff 2.40pm SA time).
De Jager’s red card late in the first half forced Bok coach Rassie Erasmus into making unexpected changes in captain Siya Kolisi’s 100th Test match.
“What started out as a little bit of an experiment with Andre, trying to get him to play loose forward and inside centre, has become a bit of a weapon for us,” Brown said.
“Getting the red card against France and having Andre on the bench, we could not have asked for a better impact player in that situation.
“He could go to the mauls, go to the scrums and then defend at inside centre when France had the ball.
“Andre’s getting better and better as we get through the Test season.”
Brown said rivals, having seen the Boks’ success with the Esterhuizen experiment, were likely to explore similar options.
“I think a lot of countries have players who can jump between forwards and backs,” he said.
“Ardie Savea could easily play in the backs for the All Blacks, and there’s definitely a couple of French guys who have played in the backs who are now loose forwards.
“The versatility that Andre provides is huge for us, and for sure some other countries will be adding a player to their squad with similar attributes.”
Brown said the Boks were expecting a titanic tussle against an Italian side who would have their tails up after beating Australia last week.
“Italy were outstanding against Australia; they’ve got massive threats at the breakdown, and they’re just so dangerous when they get space and opportunity,” he said.
“We certainly won’t be taking them lightly, and we’ll be putting out the best team possible that’ll be able to face them, and we’ll prepare accordingly.”
Erasmus said it had been tough to withdraw Kolisi from the field in his 100th Test.
“I say thank you to our captain, who was taken off because Andre can play loose forward and centre, which was a tough call,” Erasmus said.
“But when I told him, he just took it on the chin and understood.
“The guys who started probably softened up the opposition a little bit, and the bench came on to finish it.
“Manie Libbok came on, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu moved to fullback — that worked well — so I thought everyone had a good impact.
“That impact comes from the players understanding that it’s a 23-man effort.
“In our case it’s 34 guys on tour, and I think the plans the coaches made at halftime made it easier for the guys who came on.”
Brown said the reason SA switched their team announcement from Monday to Thursday was because De Jager’s disciplinary hearing is on Wednesday.
“Lood is part of the delaying of the team, but we’ve got a lot of sore bodies as well, so that’s the reason for that,” he said.
The Herald
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