Profile: Eben Etzebeth set for Springbok greatness

Springbok enforcer Eben Etzebeth will undeniably go down as one of the greatest players to ever put on the green and gold, and will cement that legendary status when he runs on to make his 128^th appearance in the Rugby Championship Test against Argentina in Mbombela on Saturday.

He will break Bok legend Victor Matfield’s cap record of 127 appearances, and with the 32-year-old still having a number of years left in his rugby career, he is expected to set a massive new caps record for future generations to chase.

Matfield was in fact glowing in his praise of Etzebeth and believes he can even reach the magical 150 international cap mark, which has only been breached by two other players.

Welsh legend Alun Wyn Jones sits on top with 171 caps (158 for Wales and 13 for the British and Irish Lions) and former All Blacks star Sam Whitelock played 153 Tests. Both of them, like Etzebeth and Matfield, are also locks.

‘No better player’

“I don’t think there is a better player to do that,” said Matfield about Etzebeth breaking his Bok cap record.

“I think Eben will probably go down as the best player to have worn the green and gold. He still has quite a few games in him. I think he can go over 150 Test matches.”

Etzebeth was born in Cape Town, where he attended Hoërskool Tygerberg and represented Western Province at a junior level, including at Craven Week.

In 2011 he attended the University of Cape Town, where he helped the UCT Ikey Tigers win the Varsity Cup title, while he also played for the Junior Springboks.

The following year, 2012, was then a groundbreaking one for Etzebeth as he made his senior rugby debut for the Stormers, Springboks and Western Province over an incredible season that hinted at just how good he would become.

Since then he has gone on to become one of the most decorated Boks in the history of the game, winning two World Cups, the Rugby Championship, and a British and Irish Lions series among other competitions at franchise level.

Individual honours

On the individual front he is the current two time reigning SA Rugby Player of the Year, while he has also been nominated for the World Rugby Player of the Year award on two occasions, in 2013 and last year.

Bok teammate Handre Pollard, who has been around for most of Etzebeth’s success over the past few years, said Saturday’s Test in Mbombela, the last match of this year’s Rugby Championship, was set to be a special occasion.

“What Eben’s doing, and I would say going to do going forward because he’s not stopping anytime soon, is unbelievable,” said Pollard in the build-up to the Test.

“Playing at this level, to get to 50 games is special. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment. To get to 100 is just unbelievable and to do what he’s doing is something that we’ve never seen in the past.

“I am very, very proud to be associated with Eben. He is one of the ultimate Springboks ever. He loves the Springboks, maybe just second to his family. His work rate, work ethic, week-in and week-out, he is always training hard, always helping the team, always putting the team first.”

Lock partners

Over his 12-year international career Etzebeth has started with a number of different lock partners, including Matfield who he started with 12 times early on in his career.

However, his most prolific starting partners over the years have been Franco Mostert, who he has started with on 30 occasions, and Lood de Jager, with them having started 39 games together, and De Jager explained what an inspiration he was for youngsters coming into the Bok setup.    

“When you look at Eben, the first thing you look at is his work ethic off the field especially, how professional he is, how he recovers and how hard he works in the gym,” said De Jager.

“For any youngster coming into the group, there is no better example than Eben on what epitomises Bok rugby and what it is to be a Springbok.

“He really deserves it (breaking Matfield’s record). He’s a champion of a man, he’s a great team guy, and a great example to youngsters coming through.”

Rugby Championship

If the Boks, as expected, sew up the Rugby Championship title with a win over Argentina on Saturday, it will be the perfect way to celebrate Etzebeth’s amazing milestone.

It will be the No 4’s first full Rugby Championship title, with the previous one picked up with the Boks in 2019 a shortened version due to it being in a World Cup year, and coach Rassie Erasmus also praised the imperious lock forward this last week.

“As a former Springbok I can attest to what a massive achievement it will be for Eben to become the most capped Springbok ever, and we are all very proud of him and want to make this a special and memorable occasion for him,” said Erasmus.

“If we can win the title and finish the competition off with a victory it would be a massive occasion for the team and Eben as an individual, and we’ll give everything to make this a special day for him.”