Eben Etzebeth backs Marvin Orie to fill Lood de Jager’s boots

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth is confident Marvin Orie can slot in at No five for the world champions in France in the absence of regular second-row partner Lood de Jager.

A 2019 World Cup winner, De Jager was one of three notable omissions due to injury when coach Jacques Nienaber announced the 33-man squad for South Africa’s defence of the Webb Ellis Cup in France.

Etzebeth and De Jager are the second-most capped lock combination for the Boks (39), and started the World Cup final triumph against England four years ago.

Now, Orie looks set to line up in the engine room alongside Etzebeth, who has backed his former Tygerberg High School mate to rise to the challenge on the grandest stage in rugby.

“I am very sad that he is not in the group, but it is more important that his health is better soon.

“With us it is usually the number five that decides the linemen and Franco [Mostert], Marvin Orie and RG [Snyman] will now play a bigger role. They have a big responsibility because Lood was really good at what he does.

“Fortunately we have depth and it gives an old peace of mind that Marvin started a Test against England at Twickenham last year. It will give him the confidence to make his mark at this level.”

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One of 21 returning heroes from Japan, Etzebeth is relishing the opportunity to help the Boks go back to back, but expects pool rivals like Scotland licking their lips to unseat the title-holders.

“Guys like Schalk Brits, Francois Louw and Beast [Tendai Mtawarira] quit after the previous tournament and there are one or two injuries, but it’s the same core and we’re much more experienced now,” he added.

“You try to win the cup every time and we feel like the whole of South Africa is behind us again. We are going to France to defend our title and it remains the greatest honour to represent your country in the tournament.

“It’s going to be a tough tournament because there are quite a few teams that have played incredible rugby in the last season or two.

“Scotland are always a tough team to play against as we saw at the weekend when they beat France. The Scots are unpredictable and you can never write them off. This is going to be one of our most important games if we want to progress beyond the group stage.”