Eben Etzebeth

Eben Etzebeth
Date of birth (1991-10-29) 29 October 1991
Place of birth Cape Town, South Africa
Height 2.04 m (6 ft 8 1⁄2 in)[1]
Weight 123 kg (271 lb; 19 st 5 lb)[1]
School Tygerberg High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock
Current team Stormers / Western Province
Youth Career
2009–2011 Western Province
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011 UCT Ikey Tigers 7 (5)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012–2014 Western Province 7 (0)
2012–present Stormers 54 (20)
2015–2016 NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes 9 (5)
Correct as of 18 April 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011 South Africa U20 5 (5)
2012–present South Africa 72 (15)
2015 Springboks 1 (5)
2016 Springbok XV 1 (0)
Correct as of 29 September 2018

Eben Etzebeth (born 29 October 1991) is a South African rugby player for the South Africa national team, the Stormers in Super Rugby and Western Province in the Currie Cup.[1][2][3] His regular playing position is as a number 4 lock.[4][5]

Rugby career

Western Province and Stormers

Etzebeth was marked out as a player of huge promise from an early age when playing for Tygerberg High School in Cape Town and he entered the Western Province youth structures in 2009, featuring in the Under-18 Craven Week tournament.[1] In 2011 his career moved up a gear when he was part of the UCT Ikey Tigers side which won the Varsity Cup,[6] however injury stalled his progress in the second half of the year and he was unable to play any part in the 2011 Currie Cup.

His injury didn't stop him from being named in the Stormers squad for the 2012 Super Rugby season, he was fully fit and raring to go for the campaign and debuted on 25 February 2012 against the Hurricanes.[7] In total he made 13 appearances during the season and managed to score 1 try as the Stormers enjoyed an excellent season, winning 14 of their 16 league matches before eventually losing to the Sharks in the semi-finals.[8]

International commitments kept him out of the early stages of the 2012 Currie Cup, but he returned with a bang at the tail-end of the tournament, winning his first 3 Western Province caps and helping them to lift their first Currie Cup title since 2002. He was awarded the Man of the Match award as Province gained revenge on the Sharks with a 25-18 win in Durban.[3][9]

Injury ruled Etzebeth out of the first half of the 2013 Super Rugby season, but he returned in fine form for the second half of the campaign, playing 8 matches and scoring 1 try. He also won a team-high 47 lineouts and effected 8 steals on opposition throws.[2] For the 2013 Currie Cup, Etzebeth was again missing for large chunks of the season due to Springbok commitments, however he once again returned for the final 3 matches of the season. This time he was unable to stop the Sharks from regaining the Currie Cup by turning the tables on Western Province with a 33-19 win in Cape Town.[10]

The first 6 months of 2014 were highly frustrating as his injury curse struck again as a foot injury sustained while on international duty in November 2013 ruled him out of the entire campaign.[11] He remained committed to both of his Cape Town-based sides and in April 2013, he signed a deal that will keep him tied to Western Province and the Stormers until 2016.[12]

Etzebeth was yellow-carded following a fight with Blues loose forward Akira Ioane in 2017.

NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes

In July 2015, he signed a deal to play for NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes in the Japanese Top League.[13]

South Africa U20s

Etzebeth was a member of the South Africa Under 20 team that competed in the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship in Italy where the Baby Boks finished in a disappointing 5th place.[14][15]

Springboks

Etzebeth was called up to the Springbok squad for the first time by new head coach Heyneke Meyer ahead of the three match series against England in June 2012.[16]

He made his first appearance in the second row alongside fellow debutant Juandré Kruger on 9 June 2012 at Kings Park Stadium, Durban. South Africa were victorious by 22-17.[17] Despite suffering from some injury setbacks along the way, Etzebeth has maintained his position as first choice in the number 4 jersey throughout his Springbok career. By the end of the 2014 Rugby Championship he had made 29 appearances for his national team and is yet to score a try. Uniquely he has made more international appearances than he has Super Rugby and Currie Cup appearances combined. He also debuted for South Africa before he had played any Vodacom Cup or Currie Cup rugby for Western Province.[3]

On 23 November 2013 he was nominated for the 2013 IRB Player of the Year award along with Leigh Halfpenny, Sergio Parisse, Kieran Read and Ben Smith.[18] He has very impressive upper body strength for man of his huge height and young age, being able to bench press 385 pounds (175 kg), and perform incline dumbbell chest presses with 175 pounds (79 kg) dumbbells.[19]

Etzebeth was selected by the Springboks in the 31-man squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, making an appearance in every one of the team's pool matches, including one off the bench in South Africa's historic 32-34 loss to Japan. After starting in the rest of the pool matches, Etzebeth started in the quarter-final win against Wales and semi-final 18-20 narrow loss to New Zealand. On 30 October 2015, with the Springboks having been knocked out of the chance to win the World Cup, Etzebeth started in a locking partnership with retiring captain Victor Matfield against Argentina for the Bronze Final. Etzebeth played the full 80 minutes of the bronze final and scored a try in the 43rd minute, helping South Africa to win third place in the competition.

Etzebeth played his 50th test for South Africa, against Australia in round 3 of the 2016 Rugby Championship and became the youngest South African player in history to reach the milestone, being only 24 years old at the time. The match was a disappointment for the Springboks and for Etzebeth, who was yellow-carded in te 41st minute of their 17-23 loss against the Wallabies.

After captaining the Springboks to beat France 35-12 in the final match of a three-test series between the two sides, Etzebeth was named as captain of the Springboks for the 2017 Rugby Championship, replacing newly-appointed captain Warren Whiteley who was ruled out of the competition with an injury sustained in the second test of the French series. Whiteley failed to recover prior to the end of the 2017 season so this saw Etzebeth carry a huge workload for South Africa in 2017, playing the full 80 minutes of every match in the 2017 Rugby Championship and three-test French series. Etzebeth's 2017 campaign included what was arguably the best performance of his career in a narrow 24-25 loss to New Zealand in Cape Town.

After playing the full 80 minutes in South Africa's 3-38 loss to Ireland and 18-17 win over France on the end-of-year-tour, Etzebeth was finally subbed off for the first time in 2017 where he was replaced by Franco Mostert in a 35-6 win over Italy. Etzebeth was subbed off at half-time in the final test of 2017 where South Africa lost 22-24 against Wales, picking up a back injury. Etzebeth is expected to return to Super Rugby in May.

Springbok statistics

Test Match Record

Against Pld W D L Tri Con Pen DG Pts %Won
 Argentina
8
5
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
62.5
 Australia
6
4
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
66.67
 England
5
4
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
80
 France
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
 Ireland
2
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
50
 Italy
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
 New Zealand
5
1
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
20
 Samoa
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
 Scotland
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
 Wales
2
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
50
Total3323280000069.7

Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Con = Conversions, Pen = Penalties, DG = Drop Goals, Pts = Points Scored

Super Rugby Statistics

As of 21 June 2015
SeasonTeamGamesStartsSubMinsTriesConsPensDropsPointsYelRed
2012 Stormers131319231000500
2013 Stormers8715911000500
2014 Stormers00000000000
2015 Stormers111017910000000
Total32302230520001000
Rugby Union Captain
Preceded by
Warren Whiteley		 Springbok Captain
2017		 Next:
Pieter-Steph du Toit

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "SA Rugby Player Profile – Eben Etzebeth". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Eben Etzebeth Stormers Player Profile". Stormers Rugby. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Eben Etzebeth Western Province Player Profile". WP Rugby. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Eben Etzebeth ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "Eben Etzebeth itsrugby Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Tuks 16-26 UCT". South African Rugby Union. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "Etzebeth to make Stormers debut". Iol.co.za. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Stormers 19-26 Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – The Sharks 18-25 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 19-33 The Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  11. ↑ "Etzebeth to miss the start of Super Rugby season". SuperXV.com. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  12. ↑ "Stormers retain key quartet". Rugby365. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "2015年度 新加入選手（追加）のお知らせ" (Press release) (in Japanese). NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "SA Under-20 squad named". Sport24. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  15. ↑ "Eben Etzebeth IRB JWC Player Profile". IRB.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "Springboks to blood forwards Eben Etzebeth, Juandre Kruger and Marcell Coetzee against England in Durban Test". Daily Telegraph. Associated Press. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  17. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 22-17 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "Read, Smith and Etzebeth included on IRB World Player Shortlist". Sanzar Rugby. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  19. ↑ http://theathleticbuild.com/15-of-the-biggest-beasts-in-rugby/
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