Andre Esterhuizen

Andre Esterhuizen spent years as the best inside centre South Africa were not picking.

At 193cm and heavier than most Test back-rowers, he is a physical outlier in the position — a 12 used as a battering ram in phase play and as an extra forward at the collision. That reputation was accurate and incomplete. His offloading game has always been better than the description suggests, and Harlequins built attacking shape around him for several seasons in a way South Africa initially did not.

The obstacle was Damian de Allende, who occupied the shirt through two World Cup wins. Being second-choice for a decade behind a player of that standing is not a criticism; it is a description of the depth South Africa carry in midfield.

He came through the Sharks, spent six years at Harlequins in the Premiership, and returned to South Africa.

His Test opportunities have come in bursts — a run of caps when the senior midfield has been rested or injured, then a return to the bench. He has generally taken them.

With de Allende into his mid-thirties and the 2027 World Cup two seasons away, the position is open in a way it has not been since 2015.