André Esterhuizen has revealed how his remarkable shift from powerhouse centre to hybrid flank was born, and why the Springboks had nothing to lose by trying it.
The 31-year-old was successfully utilised on the side of the scrum by Bok coach Rassie Erasmus in 2025, scoring a memorable try from a lineout maul against France in Paris.
“When he told me what his plan was, I wasn’t even completely surprised,” Esterhuizen told Netwerk24, referencing his long-standing relationship with Erasmus. “I said I’d give it a go. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t work, then so be it.”
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The idea was unveiled publicly in June against the Barbarians in Cape Town, when Esterhuizen suddenly found himself packing down on the flank.
“Nobody outside the team knew about it,” he said. “We didn’t really want to say too much because we didn’t know if it would work.”
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At 1.93m and 116kg, Esterhuizen’s physical profile immediately fuelled excitement, and while his hybrid role continued through the Castle Rugby Championship, it was still viewed internally as a work in progress.
That changed on the end-of-year tour.
“We still thought it was in a trial phase,” Esterhuizen explained. “But against Japan it started to feel better because I trained more with the forwards.”
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He marked that Test with his first try as a forward – part of a five-try season that followed six previous years without a single Test try.
The ultimate proof came in Paris.
“With the France game, we were kind of forced,” he said after Lood de Jager’s red card. “And then it worked. That’s when we realised: OK, we’re onto something.”
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
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