Springbok scrum guru Daan Human may not have wanted to answer medical questions about the nature of lock Jean Kleyn’s injury, but he was more than happy to talk about the Boks’ newest hybrid specialist - midfielder Andre Esterhuizen.
Human got a smile out of the room when he was asked about Kleyn’s injury - something that was never clarified by the Springbok press release announcing his withdrawal - when he said: “I am a doctor, I’m not a medical doctor - I’m a scrum doctor, but it's close.”
But on a more serious note, Human believes the shift to flank on Saturday for Esterhuizen, who surprised with his new role on the side of the scrum, can have some important implications for the Bok team going forward.
The scrum doctor wouldn’t rule out a chance that it could lead to the Boks going one bigger and shocking the rugby world with an 8-0 bench, using no backline players in the process, with hybrid players like Esterhuizen to fill the void.
“Sometimes when those type of questions come my way I keep it sweet and short and refer them to Rassie,” Human smiled.
“But I think he can contribute, whether it is as a back or as a forward, whether we go 8-0, 7-1, 6-2 or even 4-4, it is doable. I just think it is helping us. And at the moment when it helps the Boks get better to perform for the country, then I’m happy about the decision.”
Human said that Esterhuizen’s size and speed made him a “vital” addition to the Springbok arsenal, and his ability to adapt to the size of the scrum would give the Bok coaches a few more options going into tests in future.
“Well potentially he is becoming so vital for us. If you think now, he is a hybrid player, and he is pretty big, bigger than some of our flankers. He is certainly bigger than Kwagga (Smith). I can assure you we are very happy with his size coming up in the scrum.
😂 "He's bigger than some of our flankers. He's definitely bigger than Kwagga... but anyway!"
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 30, 2025
Coach Daan Human on Andre Esterhuizen playing flank and the hybrid role 💪 pic.twitter.com/qryOWM3x4I
'LEARNINGS FROM SCRUM TIME'
“I think he went very well for the first time, although I don’t think it was the first time he had played flanker before - if I’m right, he played there for the Sharks as well. It went very well, I am glad for him. There are obviously learnings which come from scrum time. Sometimes when you train for the weekend in one spot - when he scrummed at the loosehead but then he later moved to the tighthead side.
“It's okay, we will get better at that but I really hope that he makes it his own position.”
Human said that Esterhuizen, already a menace in the midfield, had the opportunity to get better in the new position and that he may well get the invite to the Verkeerdevlei farm where Human has worked with Bok props Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
“I’m sure he can still develop his scrumming and mauling ability. But he hasn’t gone to the farm yet, he hasn’t got his invite yet, but he will soon,” he laughed.
But for now Esterhuizen’s ability will be used to whatever the Boks need him for, and the player has bought into the mindset of change, to the delight of the coaches.
“I can only say this, he can contribute to the team at the moment and not just in terms of size, but overall is definitely a trump card for any team. You don’t get many players who can play in the forwards and in the backline at the same time.
“I haven’t tried him at lock, but there is always a chance. But more than that, his attitude is that he wants to help us, he wants to do it to help the team and that is the first thing - a player needs to have the right attitude, and he definitely has that.”
The Boks will name their side to face Italy in Saturday’s first test at Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday.