Esterhuizen returned to the Sharks at the start of the season after a successful stint with English Premiership club Harlequins.
The 30-year-old left in 2020 when the South African teams were still in Super Rugby, meaning he has only played eight times in the URC since his return to Durban.
However, his short stint playing in the URC with the Sharks this season has already given him a unique take on the challenge of playing in two hemispheres in comparison to the old Super Rugby days.
URC v Super Rugby
Esterhuizen admits that he was surprised about the travel challenges that South African teams face with playing in the URC.
“It’s different to when I left because it was Super Rugby still,” the centre told The Rugby Pod.
“So that was one tour a year, it was a long travel but it’s only once a year and then coming back to this [URC and Champions Cup], I didn’t think it was going to be this much.
“It’s not really the travel there or back, it’s more the route we go. So my first trip was a stopover in Maputo, then Doha and Doha to Dublin and then from Dublin we drove to Galway.
“So it’s quite a bit of a journey which was a bit of an adaption for me.”
While there have been calls for better travel, which URC boss Martin Anayi admits is a priority going forward, the World Cup winner does not believe that is happening anytime soon.
“The travel is quite a bit different and probably something to get used to, I don’t think it is going to change anytime soon,” he added.
But even with the challenges of travel, he says that the Sharks are well-placed this season.
“We are sitting quite comfortably in both competitions and we’ve got two tough games coming up now against Toulouse and Bordeaux – the two French giants – so that’s going to be a tough task,” Esterhuizen said.
The ‘strange’ aspect of the URC
Having experienced Super Rugby, the Premiership and the URC, Esterhuizen has made one ‘strange’ observation about the competition he is now playing in compared to the others.
“It’s quite soon for me to talk about it because I’ve only basically played seven games in the URC,” he explained when asked about the difference of the tournaments.
“I love the Premiership, it’s one of the best tournaments that I’ve played in my life and I still love it and watch it every weekend. I think with the Premiership being a little bit smaller, it’s a lot more competitive.
“Whereas, here you’ve got eight chances of making the play-offs and the Premiership is more cut-throat with the top four going through and it’s 10 quality sides. There’s maybe one team per year that’s actually not performing well. So it’s basically nine teams that are in the running up until 75% through the season.
“It’s obviously different rugby. You’re playing two different hemispheres, which is winter there and summer here. So going from playing in Durban in the summer this week to next week you play in the winter, it’s quite strange.”
