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, 16:47 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-498:
Sies! You don’t beieve that women have a right to dignity? I am a woman rugby player. We don’t need to be dennergrated.
8 Jun 2012, 16:48 pm
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-494:
You my friend are thrice the man of these three gutter dwellers. Be proud of what and who you are. It is more than these three fritzls will ever possess.
8 Jun 2012, 16:48 pm
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-499: Oh Dear… Dirty Harriette is getting a bit passionate… Lovelorn lust Predawn… Watchout cuzzie
8 Jun 2012, 16:49 pm
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-499:
It’s obvious who thou ist knave. On guard Madame.
8 Jun 2012, 16:50 pm
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-501:
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-502:
My humble apologies as I did not know you are a lady. You are clearly in a class far superior to these three disgusting fritzl types.
8 Jun 2012, 16:52 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-503:
Who else on keo writes looong repetitive posts…and the use of American spelling is a dead giveaway..
You can’t fool an ex flatfoot pel.
8 Jun 2012, 16:53 pm
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-505:
Got to represent. Have a good one!
No problem, bra. I sort of you know, different
8 Jun 2012, 16:53 pm
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-501: Was 498 directed at you fannychops?
I like Woman rugby players… Nothing wrong with them. I met a few of the Womens RWC finalists last year…
Now quieten down and fark off
8 Jun 2012, 16:55 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-508:
I have visions of a rather portly Yeti with missing teeth and five o’ clock shadow.
8 Jun 2012, 16:55 pm
@Sharks fans are genuine Bok supporters. Stormers support England.(Predawn)-506: Obsession and passion gaps bru… Someones gonna try poke you soon
Outtahere… Beer and Rugger time
8 Jun 2012, 16:56 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-510:
Saving myself for Saturday. It’s going to get ugly and Tiger Tiger is going to meet The Great White Shark.
8 Jun 2012, 16:58 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-510:
pielneus
8 Jun 2012, 16:59 pm
Why you guys letting **** HG get to you? He supports the Sharks FFS – that alone would indicate the paedophile’s a loser!
8 Jun 2012, 17:00 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-496:
And you, abuser fritzl are a coward just like your two hangers on. I am pleased you’re carrying on with your abusive language, your harassment of a fine lady like KeurboomPark because it demonstrates to everyone reading this just how accurate I am being about you.
Give a gutter dweller enough words and he will prosecute himself. You two fools are well on your way to proving once and for all what trash you really are. It was so easy to bait you because you are both such ignorant sub-eductaed idiots. You have been taught to write like any primate but you are obviously incapable of intelligent thought or rational healthy interpersonal relationship. I pity those who are close to you. Their lives must be misery.
8 Jun 2012, 17:01 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-498: Now you are talking, Tal is the guy I am happy to have as my famous compatriot, our world champ and the wizard. Are you fond of chess?
8 Jun 2012, 17:03 pm
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-514:
“..ignorant sub-eductaed idiots.”
Can anyone spot the irony…
My work is done here.
8 Jun 2012, 17:05 pm
Hey, is it raining in whole South Africa now or just at the JWC venues?
8 Jun 2012, 17:06 pm
Ag, what the hell. Its going to be a lekker game tomorrow. My chommies are going to party like its 1999 with all the princesses
8 Jun 2012, 18:11 pm
@Sharks fans are genuine Bok supporters. Stormers support England.(Predawn)-516:
Hey Fritzl Freak. Don’t hurry back. Take your Fritzl Family with you and go AWOL from Keo permanently. Dirty Harry has arrived to rain down retribution and armageddon upon the asses of the Fritzl Freak Family: HeavenShame, Petrock and LIttle Fern. I may not be here all the time but when I am I will stick to your Freaky Family like babypoo to a blanket to make sure good people are safe from your psychotic drivelings when you abuse and harass Dawn, KeurbookPark and any other women on this site. I will be here to remind everybody of the dirty smelly scumchuckers in their midst. I will not allow slow-boiled-toad syndrome here on Keo. I will bring your fugly mugs back into clear sharp focus whenever necessary. I will wake all self-respecting men who respect and love their womenfolk from their bonhomie induced stupor and hammer home to them that to befriend the Fritzl Family Freaks is to disrespect and insult their own women who they love. Best you all bury yourselves and your perversions in a dungeon somewhere far away.
8 Jun 2012, 18:58 pm
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-519:
You make my day, Harry!
8 Jun 2012, 19:14 pm
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-520:
Happy to be of service. I will not be here all the time but I will check back as regularly as I can. You and Dawn are not alone. Take good care of yourselves.
8 Jun 2012, 21:14 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-49:
Does South Africa have a poet laureate?
8 Jun 2012, 21:16 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-57:
As long as we can all understand him, it’s OK.
8 Jun 2012, 21:20 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-73:
What’s wrong with UCT?
8 Jun 2012, 21:20 pm
@Dirty Harry(FckU2)-519: Hehehe… How goes it: “such ignorant sub-eductaed idiots”… I say no more. Dont have to… You say it all. Chuckles
8 Jun 2012, 21:23 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-104:
Sour grapes.
8 Jun 2012, 21:25 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-127:
Give me strength.
8 Jun 2012, 21:27 pm
@Nils(Nils)-515: A Park Chess hacker… Between a Ruy Lopez, Italian opening and a Sicilian or French D… I am a “situation” player
So not ranked… No Elos… Nada
Read Tal’s book… Interesting… Watched a couple of videos of the man in action… Latvian Psycho
8 Jun 2012, 21:28 pm
Found her on Keo-caines Twitter page
Doesn’t she look like Nikita?
http://yfrog.com/h272oalj
8 Jun 2012, 21:28 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-193:
Struth.
8 Jun 2012, 21:31 pm
@Sharks fans are genuine Bok supporters. Stormers support England.(Predawn)-516: Schweet… Go you good thing….
8 Jun 2012, 21:32 pm
@papashanga(papashanga)-530: how you Dawny… getting in on the name change trend… twat
8 Jun 2012, 21:37 pm
Nikita in bikini?
http://yfrog.com/h0n7idlj
8 Jun 2012, 21:41 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-533: Worth a shot… Looks a bit like our Polish maid in the UK that got me into sh.it with the Banshee actually…
8 Jun 2012, 21:42 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-532:
Hoesit W@nker! Come down to WonderWorld City and get some culture. Time for you to stop riding your Ridgeback.
8 Jun 2012, 21:44 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-534:
Why, did you hit it?
8 Jun 2012, 21:46 pm
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-535: Darling… I know you keen… But with respect I may have to decline… Not that I want to as a rather naughty boy… But if there is one thing in the world I am scared of, and there is not much to be honest, its my Banshee…
So… Sorry… Cant be done even if I wanted to
8 Jun 2012, 21:47 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-536: No… fark… But the banshee thought I did… And perception is everything…
8 Jun 2012, 21:47 pm
Ouens! Have you heard? Yolandi Vi$$er from Die Antwoord is going to sing the National Antem tomorrow!
8 Jun 2012, 21:49 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-538:
It’s better to have regrets doing her that regretting not eh?
8 Jun 2012, 21:52 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-540:
so boring. try the jerry springer channel for divorced missaaginists.
8 Jun 2012, 21:53 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-540: Ja… Fark.. The more you deny… truthfully… the more sh.yte you land in…
My very own Shawshank
8 Jun 2012, 21:54 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-542:
so pathetic. jerking off together. feel better now?
8 Jun 2012, 21:56 pm
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-543: Prawny… You trying hey…?
Farken Famous Grouse… Thats bad stuff, girly…
8 Jun 2012, 21:56 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-542:
Damned if you do and damned if you don’t?
I see you’ve lived around the world, ever been to “The Land of the Bland”?
8 Jun 2012, 21:59 pm
@KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)-541:
> missaaginists.
Okay, sit jou voortanne in die passin gap en probeer weer
Mi-so-gy-nist
Miss Saaginit is seker wat hulle jou shack agter die dokke noem?
8 Jun 2012, 22:05 pm
Why on earth would I change my nic.
8 Jun 2012, 22:06 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-545: Lol… If you talking Canada, no…
The other normal Saffa hangouts…Neither Aussie and definitely not Shakey Isles…
Heard Vancouver and Montreal are pretty damn nice though…
8 Jun 2012, 22:07 pm
Never have, never will.
8 Jun 2012, 22:17 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-548:
> Lol… If you talking Canada, no…
Yes, these guys don’t have an opinion about anything
Actually the do play rugby here, Sinclair the no 8 for the Stormers played for a local club Oak Bay
> Heard Vancouver and Montreal are pretty damn nice though…
Vancouver is nice it just rains a lot, we’re about 70km west of Vancouver, property is very expensive though
Montreal is ok lot’s of Frenchies though
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