Adriaan Pieter 'André' Esterhuizen (born 30 March 1994 in

Klerksdorp Klerksdorp () is located in the North West Province, South Africa. Klerksdorp, the largest city in the North West Province, is located southeast of Mahikeng, the provincial capital. Klerksdorp was also the first capital of the then Transvaal Repub ...

) is a South African

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player for the South Africa national team and Harlequins in the English Premiership. His regular position is centre or full-back.

Career

Youth

Esterhuizen represented his local side at the Under-13 Craven Week competition in 2007, at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2010 and at the Under-18 Craven Week in 2011. In 2013, he moved to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

to join the . He started twelve of the side's matches during the

2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Group A There are seven part ...

competition, finishing as the joint top try scorer in Division A of that competition with 9 tries. He was included in the South Africa Under-20 side for the

2014 IRB Junior World Championship The 2014 IRB Junior World Championship was the seventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Auckland, New Zealand by rugby's governing body, World Rugby, then known as the Internation ...

Senior career

His first taste of first class rugby came for the during the

2013 Vodacom Cup The 2013 Vodacom Cup was played between 9 March and 18 May 2013 and was the 16th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First ...

competition. He made his debut in a 72–6 victory against the , coming on as a substitute in the second half. Further substitute appearances followed that season in matches against the and . Esterhuizen was included in the wider training squad prior to the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

, scoring a try for them in their warm-up match against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

and was subsequently selected in the final Super Rugby squad for 2014. He joined

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

side Harlequins ahead of the 2020–21 season. He won his first Premiership title and started as Harlequins won the game 40-38 in the highest scoring Premiership final ever on 26 June 2021.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esterhuizen, Andre South African rugby union players Living people 1994 births People from Klerksdorp Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players Rugby union centres South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Munakata Sanix Blues players Harlequin F.C. players Rugby union players from Potchefstroom