Etzebeth to join Boks later ahead of Argentina Test

Most recent Springbok captain Eben Etzebeth will rejoin the Springbok squad later than the rest of his team-mates as the national team ramp up preparations for next week’s Test against Argentina in Joburg.

While the Bok squad was to gather in Pretoria on Wednesday evening to start their preparations for the Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park, lock Etzebeth, who captained the team on Saturday against the All Blacks, will only join the squad on Sunday.

This follows the passing last week of Etzebeth’s father, Harry. While the Bok lock opted to stay with his team-mates in New Zealand for the Test against the All Blacks in Auckland last Saturday, he has been given this week off to be with his family.

Back in the squad is scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, who was given time off following the death of a family member, too, while prop Gerhard Steenekamp, who travelled to New Zealand as cover, remains with the squad while Ox Nche recovers from a pectoral injury.

‘Bounce back’

“We have a settled squad, and everyone is determined to get back to action and to bounce back following the result against New Zealand,” said coach Jacques Nienaber.

“We are bitterly disappointed about the defeat, but we’ll take the lessons from that match and implement that as we look forward to our final match in the competition.”

The match at Ellis Park (against Argentina) will be the Boks’ final appearance on South African soil in 2023 and after seven successive home sell-outs since the start of the 2022 season, Nienaber said the team was excited to mark their farewell Test in front of their passionate home crowd.

“Playing such a vital match in front of our supporters is always special,” said Nienaber. “This match may not only be the decider of the Rugby Championship, but it’s also the last match we play at home before the World Cup.

“That passionate support almost serves as an extra player for us, so we’d like to appeal to SA’s rugby faithful to come out in their green and gold and make this a memorable send-off for us.”

Player load

Nienaber said that managing player load in the run-up to the departure for France remained a key focus. “One of the boxes we ticked in the last two weeks was to work on our player load. Getting that balance right is going to be vital so that we can peak at the right time this season.

“We have a sizeable squad, and we need to ensure that we give as many players as possible the chance to stake a claim for places in the World Cup squad, while at the same time getting the desired results so that we can build momentum going into the World Cup.”