Rugby
Boks will fight to the very end─── MORGAN PIEK 07:29 Thu, 07 Nov 2024
The Springbok centre André Esterhuizen has singled out the fight in the team as their major strength and attributed this to their success over the past five years.
The Springboks are preparing to face a confident Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday and this will mark the start of their end-of-year tour.
The Boks beat Scotland 18-3 at the Rugby World Cup last year, and have since gone on to win the World Cup and the Rugby Championship.
The big midfielder said in every Test they are willing to fight to the very end, and this is down to the attitude and mentality of the World Champions.
“It’s probably something that everyone speaks about – the fight in the team,” said Esterhuizen. “A lot of people say, yes, it’s luck, it’s this, it’s that, but I know obviously South African players’ mindset is even if we’re down and out, we’re going to keep on fighting until the end.
“So, yes, we always have that mindset to fight through every battle, through every game. It doesn’t matter how close the margin is or if you’re behind or in front, you keep on fighting, you don’t rest.”
The bulk of Scotland is made up of Glasgow Warriors players and Esterhuizen has played against the URC champions twice this year, once for Harlequins in England and once for the Sharks, who he joined earlier in the year. Esterhuizen added that while he has played against Glasgow twice this year, the Scottish will be a different kettle of fish and certainly will not be an easy team to roll over.
“It’s a different team, different environment, and I’ve obviously been fortunate to play them twice this year,” said Esterhuizen. “They’re a class outfit and like you said, they obviously make up the bulk of the squad for Scotland, but also when they put on their jersey, they’re different players and they play a different style, different rugby, but it’s also a different mentality as soon as you start playing international rugby.
“We’re expecting a good fight this weekend, it would be great to obviously win, but it’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be hard.”
The Springbok team announcement has been postponed until Friday afternoon, while Sunday’s big Test at the iconic Murrayfield kicks off at 18:10.
