Boks primed for a bruising midfield battle at Murrayfield

André Esterhuizen expects the midfield to be a bruising battleground when the Springboks take on Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

The Boks kick off their end-of-year tour in Edinburgh against a team that boasts one of the game’s most dynamic and talked about centre pairings in Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones.

The pair have not only been a destructive force for Scotland but also central to the rise of Glasgow Warriors to the elite of the United Rugby Championship.

“They are a great centre pairing,” said Esterhuizen, who also ranks as a midfield colossus. “We’ve watched many games of them tearing up defences in the international set-up and for Glasgow. Two great players. I played with Huw Jones for a couple of years at Harlequins, I know him quite well. Tuipulotu is a great player in terms of his distribution. He is hard to run at and he is a hard carrier as well. It's going to be a good battle.”

The midfield is not the only area where Scotland will pose awkward questions. Head coach Gregor Townsend has forged a well-rounded team that is as adept in open play as they are at close combat. The coach also brings a bit of X-factor.

“He’s a great attacking coach,” Esterhuizen said. “He’s always innovative. There is always a surprise line-out, a quick throw, a dummy here. I think he has expanded their way of attacking. He’s brought a new element into their play.”

There is the general expectation Scotland will be an even tougher nut to crack than the one the Boks faced in Marseille at the start of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” said Esterhuizen. “The game in the World Cup wasn’t a walk in the park. It was a battle, I think we came in at half time 6-3. You can always expect a tough battle against them. It is going to get messy in and around the breakdowns. We always look forward to playing against them.”

The Boks negotiated that early hurdle in the tournament, which proved a confidence booster that helped set them on their way for bigger battles later on.

Though they lost to Ireland in their Pool B decider, the Boks won the matches that mattered en route to the trophy. When the mood grabs them they are a devilishly difficult team to beat.

Esterhuizen relishes being part of a set-up in which inner belief resides.

“One day you can be on top of the world and the next day you could lose to anyone. Yes, it is good to have confidence and a bit of an aura but any team in the top 10 could probably beat you on any given day. That’s rugby, the ball’s not round. Every week we just focus on the best we can be that week and strive to be better.

“There’s fight in the team. A lot of people say it’s luck, this and that but SA players’ mindset is if we are down and out we are going to keep on fighting to the end.”