Van Staden on André the hybrid: He just needs ugly ears to be a proper forward

After bulldozing over for a rolling maul try against France, André Esterhuizen might as well trade in his backline badge for a loose forward’s number — all he’s missing now are the cauliflower ears.

That’s how his Springbok teammate Marco van Staden summed it up after the Bok “hybrid,” equally at home in midfield or on the side of the scrum, delivered another powerhouse performance in the victory over Les Bleus.

The centre-turned-flanker’s five-pointer gave the world champions the lead at the Stade de France, while his defensive steel — both up front and out wide — earned him plenty of plaudits.

“André is definitely a genuine forward now. Against Japan, he scored by coming around the corner with the forwards, and now against France he’s scored off a maul,” Van Staden said.

“We just need to get his ears ugly — then he’ll be a proper forward,” the World Cup winner joked.

Van Staden is set to play a senior role this weekend at loose forward when the Springboks face Italy in Turin. The tireless fetcher featured in the Boks’ season opener against the Azzurri in Pretoria in July, where he also dotted down in the win.

His physicality at the breakdown, relentless tackling and go-forward ball carries were crucial in that clash — and more of the same will be demanded in Italy.

According to Van Staden, the team’s defiant performance against France with just 14 men has given them huge belief, but they know Italy will be fired up at home.

“They play with passion and bring real intensity. With the crowd behind them, that’ll lift even more,” he said.

“In South Africa, they pushed us in certain areas, so we’re expecting them to come hard at us again. It was a great game this past weekend — we played with real intensity.

"I think how we prepared showed on the field. Everyone buys in, whether you’re playing or not. We push each other all week, and doing it at that level is a massive asset for us,” Van Staden concluded.