SPOTLIGHT: The Springboks are bracing themselves for a midfield battle of epic proportions when they come up against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.
The Glasgow pairing of Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones is one of the best in the business and will surely be a focal point of Scotland’s game plan.
It was just a few weeks ago when Tuipulotu produced a man-of-the-match performance in a win over the Stormers in Stellenbosch and last weekend Huw Jones showed off his attacking prowess by scoring two tries and assisting in a couple of others in Scotland’s 57-17 win over Fiji.
Going back a few months ago, they also played key roles in Glasgow’s victory over the Bulls in the 2023/24 United Rugby Championship Final in Pretoria.
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“They are obviously a great centre pairing,” said Bok and Sharks centre Andre Esterhuizen.
“I think we watched many games where they are tearing up defences in the international setup and for Glasgow as well. They are two great players.
“I’ve played with Huw Jones for a couple of years at Harlequins, so I know him quite well.”
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On Tuipulotu, Esterhuizen added: “Tuipulotu is a great player in terms of his distribution and he is hard to run at. He is also a hard carrier as well.”
“He is a phenomenal player. I’ve played against him a few times now and I’ve seen him play a lot.
“Whoever plays it’s going to be a great battle.
“We know them and we’ve analysed them as a team and personally as well.”
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Esterhuizen believes his former teammate Jones has made that No.13 jersey his own after he was struggling to get into the Scotland squad a few years ago.
“I think he just joined Quins [in 2021] and he was in between positions.
“I know Quins didn’t actually want to let him go and eventually things worked out for him to go to Glasgow.
“He settled in so nicely in the No.13 position for Glasgow and then he got back into the Scotland squad.
“It also makes it so much easier, like I’ve seen previously for myself, to play with someone who is already in the setup, like pairing up with Tuipulotu.
“He has been playing great rugby and he is a brilliant player.”
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