FILE - The Springboks’ Eben Etzebeth gets in a tussle with Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa during a Rugby Championship match in 2022. Etzebeth has been front and centre of the Boks’ physical effort for the last decade. FILE - The Springboks’ Eben Etzebeth gets in a tussle with Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa during a Rugby Championship match in 2022. Etzebeth has been front and centre of the Boks’ physical effort for the last decade. Picture Saeed Khan / AFP
Victor Matfield is probably in a better position than most to pay tribute to Eben Etzebeth ahead of his record equalling Test match in the Springboks’ away Rugby Championship fixture against Argentina.
Not only will Etzebeth move level with Matfield as the most capped Springbok of all time, but the Springboks’ No 5 lock also played with Etzebeth and South Africa’s previous No 4 great Bakkies Botha.
Etzebeth will play his 127th Test match when he comes off the bench against Los Pumas after making his Bok debut in 2012, and will break Matfield’s record next weekend in the Rugby Championship finale against the same team in Mbombela next Saturday.
Matfield said this week on SuperSport’s Final Whistle Presents Side Entry that he always knew Etzebeth would be star after seeing him dominate from a very young age.
“Bakkies had to hand him [Etzebeth] his jersey and Bakkies said something like: ‘I give over for you to be the enforcer now’,” Matfield said. “I thought, ‘Bakkies, he’s already the enforcer we need to stand back here, he can take both of us on at the same time!’
“I’ve always said it that I was lucky to play with Bakkies. You always want that one guy that when you run onto the field, the other pack know there’s no chance you’re taking on this one guy because he’s always stronger, he will always put you on the back foot. Eben is the same.”
Etzebeth’s longevity is quite remarkable as the Bok enforcer, while also showcasing the athleticism and skill over the course of a career that has seen him help the Springboks to consecutive Rugby World Cup titles in 2019 and 2023.
Etzebeth combines that brute power with an unbelievable ability to secure ball and compete at the front of the lineout. While his stopping power in the vacuum close to the action is immense, he also works hard around the park with his support play and chasing high balls.
“Just playing with him, in the beginning years, Bakkies Botha was just as athletic. As Bakkies got older, he got bigger, maybe more of an enforcer with the athleticism gone,” Matfield said.
“But with Eben, his engine is just still there. If you look at the kick-chases that happen in a game, he’s in the frontline the whole time.
“His tackles around the field, the work rate, it’s just unbelievable. And then when it comes to the physicality, he just never takes a step back.
“That’s what Eben’s been giving this pack, for the last 10 years now; just giving you that physical ability to put you on the front foot – he will never take a step back – and you want a guy like that in your team.”
The man being groomed to one day take over that No 4 jersey from Etzebeth, Salmaan Moerat, will captain the Springboks at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Ester on Saturday night (11pm kickoff).
Eben Etzebeth, fucking terrifying.#AUSvRSA pic.twitter.com/FxeSMN4hvo
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) September 3, 2022
Moerat, who started his professional career with Etzebeth at Western Province and the Stormers, sang Etzebeth’s praises ahead of his record-equalling Test match.
“The milestone that he is about to reach, it’s just a testament to the person that he is on the field and most importantly, the person that he is off the field,” Moerat said.
“The one thing that stands out for me is his consistency and his ability to perform week-in and week-out. Not just average performances, but world-class performances each and every week.
“That is something we as young players can learn from. He carries himself really well and he is a leader of men.”
@JohnGoliath82
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