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Locked in — most-capped Bok Eben Etzebeth says ‘being tough is in my blood’

Locked in — most-capped Bok Eben Etzebeth says ‘being tough is in my blood’
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 27: Eben Etzebeth of the Springboks during The Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and the South African Springboks at Adelaide Oval on August 27, 2022 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)
Craig Ray
By Craig Ray
29 Sep 2024
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Hard-as-nails lock Eben Etzebeth has come a long way to earn his record-breaking 128th Test selection against Argentina this week.

It’s rare that one once-in-a-generation player is immediately followed by another in the same position. But that’s exactly what Springbok and Sharks lock Eben Etzebeth did when he replaced Bakkies Botha in the Bok second row as a raw 20-year-old in 2012.

Botha had been the Springboks’ unofficial enforcer for a generation – often crossing the line but always ensuring the Boks were on the front foot if he had anything to do with it.

Etzebeth grew up watching Botha and others of a fine Bok generation between 2004 and 2011. He was a schoolboy star, a celebrated Junior Springbok and a kid from a family notoriously known for its no-­nonsense approach in Cape Town’s northern suburbs club rugby scene.

In short, Etzebeth had the credentials to fill Botha’s role, but not the experience. He was supposed to be eased into the Super Rugby arena with Test chances to come later. Rugby, however, is a brutal game and Etzebeth’s neatly laid-out path was suddenly cleared because of the misfortune of others.

The plan at Western Province was for the youngster to be managed through the 2012 Super Rugby season, as back-up for Rynhardt Elstadt, then playing No 4 lock, and the rangy Andries Bekker.

Injuries to both players early in the season forced coach Allister Coetzee to usher Etzebeth into the squad for game one of the Stormers’ 2012 campaign. Immediately it became obvious that his place would never be in doubt again.

Record breaker


Etzebeth’s 128th Test cap against Argentina in Mbombela made him the most-capped Springbok player in history.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Brilliant Boks deliver first full rugby championship title after mauling Pumas

He surpassed Victor Matfield and is on his way to 150 caps if injuries don’t strike. There is nothing in his performances this year, or over the past several years, that suggest Etzebeth is taking it easy or losing form.

At 32, he’s still producing an incredibly high standard of rugby. His performance in last year’s World Cup quarterfinal against hosts France in Saint-Denis was one of the greatest individual outings by a Bok, ever.

And he’s almost matched that standard in every Test he’s played since.

In fact, Etzebeth was probably unlucky to miss out on being named World Player of the Year in 2023. All Black looseforward Ardie Savea earned the accolade, after a stellar year himself.

Read more: Eben Etzebeth crowned SA Rugby’s best for second consecutive year

“In the early 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 recently on the Supersport show Final Whistle.

“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,” Matfield said.
He doesn’t like losing… and doesn’t like it when he thinks people aren’t trying their best.

“I always talk about that British & Irish Lions series when there was so much talk about him and Maro Itoje. At some stage, Itoje was falling, trying to buy penalties and Eben was just in his face; within the law but never taking that step back.

“I’ve always said that I was lucky to play with Bakkies. You always want that one guy that, when you run onto the field, the other pack knows 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,” Matfield added.

“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.”

Etzebeth Eben Etzebeth on the charge for the Springboks against the Wallabies during their Rugby Championship clash at the Adelaide Oval on 27 August 2022. (Photo: Sarah Reed / Getty Images)


Liking the pain


It was current Bok coach Rassie Erasmus who signed Etzebeth for Western Province when the former was director of rugby at the union in 2009.

“I’ll never forget, he didn’t have an agent. The way it worked was you got a certain amount if you were a junior and the amount went up if you played Super Rugby,” Erasmus said.

“He asked me what that Super Rugby amount was, and I asked him why and he said he thought he was going to play Super Rugby,” he added.

“I thought ‘here’s a youngster with his head on his shoulders’, even though he didn’t get to play Super Rugby at 18 or 19. He’s one of the most competitive guys you’ll ever meet: if I beat him at darts or he beats me, then we owe each other R200.
If there’s one guy I can think of when you think of a Springbok, it’s Eben Etzebeth.

“About two months ago he phoned me and said: ‘You still haven’t paid me that R200.’ He’s a very competitive guy; few guys can call the coach and say you owe me R200.

“And this is not to say he’s stingy, he’s just competitive,” said Erasmus.

“He doesn’t like losing, he doesn’t like when the team isn’t in the right mindset and doesn’t like it when he thinks people aren’t trying their best.”

In an interview with this writer in 2012, during his first northern hemisphere tour with the Boks in the days leading up to his first clash against Ireland, Etzebeth revealed a little about himself.

“I grew up pretty tough. My parents did­n’t have a lot of money but they always wanted the best for me and I got everything I needed,” Etzebeth said.

“Being tough is in my blood. When you wear the Bok No 4 jersey, your job is to be the enforcer and inflict pain by hitting rucks hard and I embrace that responsibility.

“I like to let the opposition know I’m there early in the game.”

There was a certain bravado to those comments at the time. But as he has matured, the physicality has not diminished, yet it’s fair to say he has become more controlled.

Early in his career, opponents used to try to rile Etzebeth, looking for a retaliation that might land him on the naughty step.

Mostly, though, he has stayed on the right side of the law, always wincingly phy­sical but seldom illegal. He’s only had four yellow cards in his previous 127 Tests.

“For me, I think he’s a better person than he is a rugby player,” said scrum coach Daan Human.

“He’s a wonderful guy and he’s coachable.

“He has his feet on the ground and is always willing to learn. And he’s a team man. If there’s one guy I can think of when you think of a Springbok, it’s Eben Etzebeth.” DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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