Is Rassie set to shake up rugby with the ‘hybrid Springbok’?

The old guard at World Rugby must be getting very tired of Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus shaking up the status quo, and a brand new innovation is now set to be unleashed this season with the “hybrid Springbok”.

In the Boks’ season opener against the Barbarians in Cape Town on Saturday night, it was a big surprise when regular inside centre Andre Esterhuizen entered the field with the bomb squad early in the second half, not for Damian de Allende as would be expected, but for flank Marco van Staden.

With 36 minutes of the match still to go Esterhuizen then packed down on the side of the scrum, while also slotting into the backline during open play, as the Boks ran in five second half tries to power away to a 54-7 win.

It is another surprise innovation from the genius of Erasmus and if his comments after the match are to be believed, this could become a regular occurrence going forward.

Hybrid player

“You can have two ways of looking at it. We have had the 6-2 split, with (forward) Kwagga (Smith) covering wing. Now we’re just doing it the other way around now, with Andre, a backline player, who is able to play in the forwards now,” explained Erasmus.

“If we do get three backline injuries, a guy like Andre just gives us the option now, because he has been training with the forwards and the backs.

“(Assistant coach) Felix (Jones) has done well to manage his (Esterhuizen’s) load with the forwards and the backs, as he has been part of scrumming sessions. He is a backline player who can play in the forwards and Kwagga is a forward who can play in the backline.

“You can call him a hybrid player. We started chatting to him (Esterhuizen) about it five months ago.”

Excited Esterhuizen

Esterhuizen was asked about the role after the match and admitted his excitement for it, with it adding to his game and giving the Bok coaches extra options going forward.

Also with Esterhuizen behind De Allende in the pecking order, and due to him not being versatile in the backline, he often isn’t picked on the bench, but with him now available to slot into the pack, it could see him in the match 23 more often than he previously was.

“It was a good experience, obviously I trained there a bit this week. It’s a good attribute to have for the future. If I wasn’t willing I wouldn’t have played today,” said Esterhuizen after the game.

“I am definitely willing to learn and slot in a bit of a hybrid role to cover forwards and backs. I think it will help me as a player personally and help me in future. We obviously spoke about it and I said I would like to try it. It gives us more options.

“I was actually just waiting for that conversation to happen sometime. It has been brought up in the past and shrugged off from different perspectives and people.

“As you get older, you need to learn how to slot in everywhere. How you can get yourself in the team more consistently. You have to adapt as a player. So I’m looking forward to what it can become.”