Esterhuizen's role at flank means anything is possible for the Springbok Bomb Squad

Springbok scrum coach Daan Human looked nervous when asked if the invention of Andre Esterhuizen as a centre-cum-flank has opened up the door for an 8-0 Bomb Squad, but he did not discount the possibility.

Esterhuizen was a flank at school before moving to the backline and now the leftfield thinking of Rassie Erasmus has him going full circle.

He is a prime slab of Klerksdorp beef at 113kg and 1.92m, and at age 31, he still has plenty of miles on the clock, especially if he makes a success of his transition to a “hybrid” role of the ultimate utility-player. There are very few, if any, other international backs who are comfortable roving between the forwards and the backline.

Former Lions centre Marius Louw moved from flank at Grey College to centre at the Sharks, but it seldom happens the other way around.

Erasmus probably got the idea from seeing Esterhuizen moving to flank for the Sharks during a few crisis matches this season when their pack was suddenly depleted by yellow cards or injuries.

“Andre is potentially becoming vital for us. He is as big, if not bigger than some of our flanks,” Human said, at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s first Test against Italy in Pretoria.

“He is definitely bigger than Kwagga (Smith). I’m very happy with his bulk. He went well for the first time at this level (against the Barbarians last week).

“We are teaching him to get better, especially at scrum-time. I really hope he makes it his own position. There are technical areas that need work, especially in terms of his role in the mauling.”

Human, who is known for his quick wit, was asked of Esterhuizen had cracked the nod to his scrum farm, which is rapidly growing in fame, notably after he helped Asenathi Ntlabakanye shed 18kg ahead of his Bok debut last week.

Human lives on his farm near Bloemfontein.

“Andre hasn’t gone to the farm, he hasn’t got the invite yet, but maybe I will make a plan soon,” Human smiled.”

With Esterhuizen on the Bok bench covering centre and flank, a new world of possibilities is opening up for the innovative South Africans.

Is there a chance of a Bok bench with eight forwards?

“When those questions come my way, I try to make it sweet and short, and pass it on to Rassie,” Human grinned.

“Look, I think Andre can contribute as a back or forward, whether it is 8-0, 7-1, 6-2, or even 4-4, which is also doable. At the moment, if it is helping the Boks make the country better, then we are happy with the decision.”

Human was asked to explain what goes on at his farm when certain players are invited.

“If you want to scrum, you must be conditioned to scrum, so there is a bit of conditioning,” he said. “It is not actually about weight loss (in the case of Ntlabakanye), it is mostly about getting better come scrum time.

“We focus on the fundamentals of the scrum. You can’t work on scrumming by yourself and I don’t believe you can improve on a scrum machine.”

Human revelaed he invites players who are on the periphery of the Springboks and improves them so that if and when they get the call-up, they are not far off the pace.

“We want to keep growing our player base. The bigger the base, the more choices you have.

"We want to improve as many players as possible to the point where they are not far off your first and second choices. Then, when they come into the system, there is not too much of a gap.”

The Boks have lost lock Jean Kleyn to a season-ending injury but Human says there is no need to send for reinforcements.

“I’m so sad for Jean, I can’t tell you medically what is wrong with him — I’m a scrum doctor, not a medical doctor, but I am getting there,” he joked.

“We are fortunate that we have guys like Cobus Wiese coming in while Jean-Luc du Preez can play there, and Pieter-Steph du Toit could probably cover any position on the field. Also, RG Snyman and Eben Etzebeth are back this week.”