Access template reference variables from component class

That is a use-case for @ViewChild:

https://angular.io/docs/ts/latest/api/core/index/ViewChild-decorator.html

class XComponent {
   @ViewChild('ipt', { static: true }) input: ElementRef;

   ngAfterViewInit() {
      // this.input is NOW valid !!
   }

   somefunction() {
       this.input.nativeElement......
   }
}

Here’s a working demo: