Esterhuizen faces disciplinary hearing on Thursday

Harlequins could find themselves without the services of Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen for a minimum of two weeks after he was shown a red card on Sunday as his teams took on Gloucester, winning 34-24 despite playing the lion’s share of the second half with 14 men.

Esterhuizen, who joined ‘Quins from South African Super Rugby franchise, the Sharks, faces the charge of contravening Law 9.12:

‘A player must not physically or verbally abuse anyone. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to, biting, punching, contact with the eye or eye area, striking with any part of the arm (including stiff-arm tackles), shoulder, head or knee(s), stamping, trampling, tripping or kicking.’

The incident occurred in the 45^th minute and a TMO review showed Esterhuizen striking an opponent with an elbow.

He will appear before a disciplinary committee on Thursday where his fate will be decided. Unfortunately, he will not go into the hearing with a squeaky-clean disciplinary record, having served a six-week suspension in 2017 for a spear tackle.