Etzebeth’s making giant strides
8 Jun 2012
GAVIN RICH, writing in SA Rugby magazine, looks back at Eben Etzebeth’s rapid transformation from average schoolboy centre to Stormers’ second-row star.
The day after the news of Rassie Erasmus’s resignation as Western Province senior professional coach broke, a gaggle of Cape journalists were gathered on the touchline of the Hermanus Primary School rugby field, watching the Stormers sweat in the mid-January heat.
It says something for Eben Etzebeth’s physique that he was able to deflect the conversation away from the Erasmus saga.
‘Hey, who the hell is that monster? That one over there, the one who looks like a superhero?’ asked one hack.
It didn’t require more than a second glance to recognise the big fellow as one of the stars of the UCT Varsity Cup triumph from the previous year. But, perhaps because Etzebeth was wearing a vest, or maybe because injury had prevented him from playing more than a bit part in the WP U21 campaign in 2011, it did look at that first sighting of 2012 as though he had bulked up considerably.
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‘Superhero would be a good description of him; he does have an amazingly proportioned physique,’ agrees WP U21 coach John Dobson. ‘In fact, his biceps are something of a talking point around him. They’re massive and when we have fines meetings we make him show them off as a party trick. He is just ridiculously strong.’
Indeed, and a few days later he was reminding us that he could play a bit too.
His first game for the Stormers was the pre-season friendly against Boland in Wellington, and the force with which he hit the rucks bolstered the impression that the Stormers had indeed uncovered a superhero.
Among the memorable early Etzebeth moments was when he drove a Lions player back several metres in the pre-season game at Newlands, something which by the time Super Rugby had arrived was becoming a regular occurrence. Few young locks have smashed their way as emphatically into the frame in their first season as Etzebeth has.
‘It was incredible to watch Eben make his debut for the Stormers; he had absolutely no trouble making the step up and it was as if he had been there for years,’ says Steph Nel, who was responsible for guiding Etzebeth through his year at the WP Rugby Institute in 2010. ‘It was a huge debut and he was such a presence on the field that it was hard to believe he had undergone an almost overnight transformation from age-group player to Super Rugby star.’
It is fairly well known that Etzebeth is a member of the Etzebeth clan that became part of WP rugby folklore in a previous era. Eben’s uncles Cliffie and Skattie were responsible for terrorising many an opposing player and there is seldom a rugby gathering in the Cape where at least one story about the exploits of the legendary tough men is not told.
But growing up in Goodwood and attending one of the less fashionable schools had its drawbacks, and had it not been for former Springbok lock Hennie Bekker spotting Etzebeth’s giant form while helping out at a training session at Tygerberg High in 2008, the Stormers would not now be benefiting from Etzebeth’s thunderous contributions.
‘I was preparing to coach the Tygerberg 1st XV when I saw this massive bloke running on the other field with the B or C team,’ recalls Bekker, who is in charge of WP’s youth development and the general manager at their School of Excellence. ’I was told he was one of the Etzebeths. I was immediately interested, particularly because he was such a massive physical specimen. But he was playing centre, and had also played wing. He was just messing around in the backline. He didn’t appear to be taking his rugby particularly seriously. He seemed to enjoy the game without having any expectation.
‘I called him over and we had a chat. I invited him to attend my WP elite squad training sessions. He was in Grade 11 at the time. I told him he had to make a pact with me that he would work really hard, otherwise he would just be wasting my time. I also told him he would have to switch to lock and that would be the only position he would play from then on.’
Etzebeth made the promise and Bekker reckons he more than delivered on it.
‘I was immediately impressed with his dedication. He seemed determined to make something out of the opportunity he was being offered. There was no doubt from the outset that he had immense raw promise,’ recalls Bekker. ‘He had all the attributes for a lock in terms of strength, but he was also very skilful, probably because he started out playing in the backs. For a big guy he was surprisingly athletic. Most importantly, there was a hardness that I liked.’
Given the reputation built up by his uncles in their years playing club rugby in the province, it would be understandable if there was an expectation that the young Etzebeth would be a chip off the old block. Jacques Hanekom, chief executive of the WP Rugby Institute, has detected that there is a tendency for people to assume that Etzebeth will be a wild man.
‘People expect him to be a loose cannon but that is not the case at all. When he was at the institute we had no problems with him on or off the field,’ says Hanekom. ‘In actual fact he’s quite calculated on the field. He thinks about what he is doing; he has the right mixture of calculation and aggression. I don’t foresee him becoming like Bakkies Botha in terms of running into disciplinary problems later on in his career.
‘When he was with us he was a reserved kid, you could almost say he was quite shy, but he was extremely focused and dedicated. When a kid comes to us he has to tick certain boxes related to performance and attitude on and off the field. Eben ticked them all. We knew we were working with the full Monty.’
Bekker concurs with Hanekom’s view, saying that he is sure Etzebeth will be one of those who keeps his feet on the ground regardless of how quickly he progresses through the ranks.
‘In his matric year he played for WP Schools. That was 2009, just one year after he was moved to lock. But through that he remained very level-headed, and he knows his progress has been down to sheer hard work. When he was injured last year he worked hard on bulking up, and this year we are seeing the results.’
One of his uncles, Allie, remembers Eben as a sports-mad kid who through his years at Goodwood Park Primary School and later at Tygerberg always seemed to have a ball in his hand and was constantly playing or practising sport.
‘He was a good athlete, excelling in the 100m and 200m, but rugby was always a big passion in the family after what Cliffie and Skattie achieved as players,’ says Allie.
‘He was really fast for a big guy, and that was why he played centre and wing for most of his school career. He was one heck of a difficult guy to stop when he had the ball in his hand. He was always such a pleasant kid too, and he has a real soft heart. The Bulls and the Sharks were keen to get him to sign with them. They made good offers, but Eben decided he wanted to stay in Cape Town and look after his mom.’
When Etzebeth attended the WP Rugby Institute he was part of what Nel called the institution’s master class.
‘I remember saying once before that Francois Hougaard was the cream of what we produced in terms of natural attributes and professional attitude. But in 2010 we had several players who were all in the same category as Hougaard,’ says Nel.
‘Eben, Siya Kolisi, Frans Malherbe, Nizaam Carr, Scarra Ntubeni … we had a phenomenal pack of forwards and they all have something special about them. Eben still had to mature but he had fantastic results in all the tests we conducted on him. The only problem I can recall is that he was just so damn big that it was impossible for the other guys to pick him up in the lineouts.’
Funnily enough, Etzebeth’s size has been responsible for the one small headache that his elevation to Super Rugby has caused for Stormers forward coach Matt Proudfoot.
‘I’ve had to work with Eben on a few things at scrum time as it is never easy to get a guy who stands over 2m tall to fit easily into a scrum unit. He has a lot of body that needs to be put into position,’ says Proudfoot.
But that small problem aside, you won’t hear Proudfoot complaining about the size in the Stormers second row, where Andries Bekker also stands over 2m tall. Proudfoot sees the ease with which Etzebeth has adapted to senior rugby as a triumph for the systems that have been put in place at WP since 2008.
‘Eben has been coming to the High Performance Centre for quite a while now so it’s not a new environment for him and it has helped him fit comfortably into the top team.’
Proudfoot sounded an ominous warning to future Etzebeth opponents who might think they were seeing anything close to the finished product.
‘There is so much more he still has to show us. For a start we haven’t really had to use him in the lineout. He is an outstanding lineout forward and when there is a game when Duane [Vermeulen] and Andries are shut down we will see the full extent of his repertoire. He is also going to come more into his own as a ball-carrier. He is an awesome athlete.
‘He’s growing in confidence, which is the result of being backed in the pre-season and playing in all the warm-up games. As a young player he had to be physically up to the challenge. He went through that barrier and it enabled him to prove to himself that he could not only survive at senior level but also excel there. One of the great things about him is that he is proactive in his decision-making.’
Etzebeth has played all his rugby for the Stormers as what old-timers would call a front lock, but he played his junior rugby in the No 5 jersey.
‘He can play No 4 and No 5, but he is not a light jolly jumper-type player that has become the norm in modern rugby,’ says Dobson. ‘Matt is working hard on getting him to be a fusion of the two. Not many locks can be both. Eben is not as dirty as some locks who fulfil the role he does but he is also no angel. Let’s put it this way, I wouldn’t like to cross him on the field. In fact, I wouldn’t play against him at all. He’s scary.’
– This article first appeared in the May issue of SA Rugby magazine.
631 Comments
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8 Jun 2012, 15:27 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-437: Amstel or Heineken will do just fine, boytjie… No need to get pretentious about beers, eh? Lager/Pilsener for quaffing… Ale and the rest for pi.ssing…
8 Jun 2012, 15:30 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-447: Why? Rest of France is fine… Actually 100% especially in the South.
Nigeria and Egypt also got some nice spots away from the madding crowd…
8 Jun 2012, 15:31 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-450:
Pilsener Urquell is my favourite beer. A lot of people find it too bitter or too watery on the first step, but man the Germans love it.
8 Jun 2012, 15:32 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-446:
Amsterdam…nightlife
Dubai…shopping
Anywhere in Italy for general atmosphere
The Hague…most irritating rude people on earth. More **** than Cape Town
Transvaal…most friendly girls
Germany..best beer and food and awesome scenery
8 Jun 2012, 15:34 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-452:
Like it stukkend too.
8 Jun 2012, 15:34 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-452:
I meant “too watery on the first sip”, not the first step.
8 Jun 2012, 15:37 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-452: Yeah that is a good one – a Czech beauty.
It tastes different in Prague.
And so much better in glass vis-a-vis tap.
8 Jun 2012, 15:38 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-452: It was Czech originally now just another overpriced SAB… Better value with good old Amstel.
Germans like it Weiss. Lots of it.
8 Jun 2012, 15:39 pm
@willievz(willievz)-456:
Agreed. Czech beers in general are very good. When I was there I also enjoyed Budvar and Staropramen. I actually drank Urquell at the brewery in Plzn!
Staropramen draft beer in a nice chilled glass is fantastic.
The American Budweiser is a very, very poor copy of the Budvar.
8 Jun 2012, 15:40 pm
@Sharks fans are genuine Bok supporters. Stormers support England.(Predawn)-453: Hague…
8 Jun 2012, 15:40 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-455:
sounds like you’ve had too many steps already…!!
8 Jun 2012, 15:41 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-457:
Weiß in summer is fantastic, the wheat gives it such a nice tart taste.
8 Jun 2012, 15:41 pm
@ufo(ufo)-460:
Too true!
8 Jun 2012, 15:41 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-458: Budvar…
8 Jun 2012, 15:42 pm
And in winter, nothing look a good Doppelbock.
8 Jun 2012, 15:45 pm
It’s estimated that around 90% of beers drunk every day are made according to the Pilsener style or a style directly derived from it.
The Pilsener Urquell brewed in 1842 was the first clear or golden lager. They called it Plzensky Prazdroj or “Plzn’s original source”. Because Plzn then fell under the Austro-Hungarian Empire they called it “Urquell” in German or “original source”.
8 Jun 2012, 15:46 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-432: Top cities for men? Well you got your shopping list now HG, good luck to you. Don’t put Mumbai down too soon, though. I’m sure a little Chapati salesman with burnt orange lapels six inches wide will be just up your alley. Wink wink.
8 Jun 2012, 15:48 pm
No beer snob here… 5 safe choices that have stood me in good stead wherever I have been… the familiar… The comfort.
1. Amstel
2. Heineken
3. Guinness
4. Budweiser
5. Kirin
These and my Marlboro Reds… Happiness everywhere.
8 Jun 2012, 15:52 pm
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-467: Thats exactly my point… That CNN list is fakked
8 Jun 2012, 15:57 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-262:
Listen, punk. To me you’re nothin’ but dogshit, you understand? And a lot of things can happen to dogshit. It can be scraped up with a shovel off the ground. It can dry up and blow away in the wind. Or it can be stepped on and squashed. So take my advice and be careful where the dogshits ya!
8 Jun 2012, 15:58 pm
Two of the worst excuses for drinking beverages I have ever had the displeasure of tasting when venturing out of my comfort zone:
Kronenbourg (worst lager on the planet)
Spitfire
Actually I include all that type of excuse for Pi.ss called Ale here…
8 Jun 2012, 15:59 pm
Czech and German beers rule and Latvian (not mainstream Aldaris though – provincial ones like Tervetes, Bauskas, Uzavas, Bralis are miles better) ones are delicious, too, if someone happens to wander in the Baltics – should give a try.
Comparing to Western Europe beer here is cheap. Bottled good beer (even unfiltered) will cost about 2 – 3 EUR/liter.
8 Jun 2012, 16:00 pm
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-470: Keep up umfana… You’re about 200 posts behind… Blaady msunu
8 Jun 2012, 16:02 pm
@Nils(Nils)-472: Lol… You farkers are Alkies… Even your women are… But hellsteeth they are nice looking… I give that, with or without beer goggles.
8 Jun 2012, 16:02 pm
So where are all the “rugby comments” now?
8 Jun 2012, 16:02 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-471:
I have to admit…
I love Fosters.
Agree on Kronenbourg.
8 Jun 2012, 16:04 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-466: Straight from the Wikipedia beer drinking experience no doubt
8 Jun 2012, 16:05 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-474: For once I am with you. We drink hard and we scr*w one of the most beautiful fairies in the whole damn world.
8 Jun 2012, 16:07 pm
@willievz(willievz)-476: I must say, I don’t hate Fosters. Don’t mind Carlsberg or Carling either. Not my first choices but if others aren’t available those will do…
Another beer I particularly dislike is Black Label… Fark me. I always taste banana in the bloodystuff. And it doesn’t taste good.
8 Jun 2012, 16:08 pm
Come on mal oog come out from where you hiding you lily-livered underside of a maggot
8 Jun 2012, 16:09 pm
And meanwhile, it’s Aussie-Scotland Part 2 in Stellenbosch. The weather, the result, everything, except Argies instead of Jocks.
8 Jun 2012, 16:10 pm
@Nils(Nils)-478: Yes… Pity you cant support a decent rugby team though then you would actually be a good oke… But as a beer drinking womanshagging East European rugby loving savage you’re okay
8 Jun 2012, 16:12 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-475: It beer time… Goes with Rugby perfectly… Whats your beer, Prawnster?
8 Jun 2012, 16:17 pm
Czech beers are my favourite too. Sarajevsko Pivo from the Balkans is top notch.
8 Jun 2012, 16:20 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-482: Thanks mate. I’m sure you’re alright oke in your heart, too.
As for rugby – aren’t Crusaders a “decent rugby team”?
On a serious note, yes, my national team is far away from the big boy level or even ENC-level but in the 80s we were quite good. Even Georgians and Russians did not feel too comfortable and they ruled the Soviet rugby.
Now, it’s official – Wallabitas have been eaten by the mighty Pumitas.
8 Jun 2012, 16:25 pm
@Nils(Nils)-485: Not talking Saders… Thats your prerogative… although a certain Dynamite Team in Black and White would be open to a Latvian chapter… I am talking your AllBlack persuasion letting you down… hugely… Surely you wold feel more content with Green and Gold Bokbefok passion… After the Latvian XV, of course…
8 Jun 2012, 16:29 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-483:
Dawn drinks anything that comes out of a 5 litre box.
8 Jun 2012, 16:31 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-473:
You are such a pretentious When-We Rhodesian South African Wannabe. I’m astonished that more people on this site don’t see you for what you are. Your dishonesty knows no bounds.
I quote: “No beer snob here… 5 safe choices that have stood me in good stead wherever I have been… the familiar… The comfort.”
Such cringeworthy, gag-inducing tripe.
What a pompous pretentious fake you are. Your constant need to score points with bloggers here in the psychotic craving need for acceptance and credibility is pathetically pitiful. You and your petrock Predawn and little sister Fern are the most unintelligent pretenders anywhere on the World Wide Web. The need to stroke each others egos is disturbing at best and should send warning signals to whomever goes near you at worst. Your constant crowing about the Sharks is merely an extension of your unstable mind and insecure persona that allows to you live and achieve vicariously through people with whom you have nothing in common and nothing to do. It exposes the emotionally barren makeup and selfishness of an uncouth, ill-bred, uncared for, ill disciplined, morally deficient child with the emotional intelligence of an abused 5-year-old. There is only one thing sadder than the excrement you, your petrock and little sister post on this site and that is the inability to discern just how disliked you are and how much you disgust the majority of decent people who try to enjoy speaking about rugby with a little good natured banter. But you three always meet at the lowest common denominator and drag everyone down into the gutter where the three of you are most comfortable and feel most at home.
My humble apologies to SharksGirl and other decent Sharks fans. But an example for you of how generalizing can leave one feeling spat on. Which is why everyone should be aware of just what a scumchucker this HeavensGame is.
8 Jun 2012, 16:35 pm
Awwwww. I am more a pet boulder…a Great White Boulder.
8 Jun 2012, 16:36 pm
@Sharks fans are genuine Bok supporters. Stormers support England.(Predawn)-487:
Really.
8 Jun 2012, 16:38 pm
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-488: Mwah… Thanks for the Love Letter darling… Who are you again?
So this is what Fernly means with “crocodile death roll”….
8 Jun 2012, 16:39 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-486: Let’s put it this way. We are and will remain “foes” as long as eternal Green&Gold vs Black rivalry exists and nevertheless Green&Golds are and will remain a source of admiration and huge respect from me. The same goes to South African provincial teams. I like them, even if I am not an ardent die-hard fan.
8 Jun 2012, 16:39 pm
So we have half of the Bok team made up of Guppies in front of a home crowd. Nowhere to hide tomorrow. Especially the messiah Fransie!
Can anyone tell me why all Guppies look like cavemen? What with those hairstyles? Coetzee, Lambie (might be the dandruff issue) and Fransie all look like prehistoric neanderthals. Aren’t they afraid of lice?
8 Jun 2012, 16:39 pm
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-488:
This is the most elokquent summary of the biggest prick on this blog. He is clearly a lonely person. I could not put it better, Mr. Eastwood. I have a poor education and live from place to place, but wen i reads this kind of annalysis i feel a bit more educated. Thank you for sorting this twallap out.
8 Jun 2012, 16:41 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-491:
Don’t pick on her. That letter took the better part of the afternoon. Going on all the ‘z”s in her spelling she clearly has not learnt to set the spell check to UK English..prefers her letters in an American drawl.
8 Jun 2012, 16:43 pm
@Sharks fans are genuine Bok supporters. Stormers support England.(Predawn)-489: Lol… Qaphela mfowethu…Yena isistabani khala mpela… Mhlawumbi indoda bepha lemfana “Dirty” sixlove fanayo ntombi namhlange…
8 Jun 2012, 16:45 pm
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-494:
Who..skopshyte?
8 Jun 2012, 16:45 pm
@Nils(Nils)-492: You disappoint me sir… But that good enough from a fellow beer swilling woman goggling rugby lover from the land of Tal…
8 Jun 2012, 16:46 pm
@Sharks fans are genuine Bok supporters. Stormers support England.(Predawn)-489:
No. You are a disgusting dishonest clodhead of a boulder. You are a liar. Period. You insinuate that harassment is not cool when it is mentioned in the Keohane scandal but have been harassing Dawn for years now with your two disgusting sidekicks and continue to. You say things to a woman that no real self-respecting man ever would or should and no woman should ever hear.
Any bloggers on this site who encourage and cheer this fritzl on are no better than him. Any man on this site who loves his wife, girlfriend, mother or daughter should let these three abusers of women know that it is not acceptable to speak to Dawn as they do or to any other women. These three fritzls are not real men. The are not decent men. They are not honest men. They are not even pigs because pigs are clean intelligent animals. They are scum.
8 Jun 2012, 16:47 pm
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-494: Mhlathi wakho… Bembiza
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