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, 10:46 am
@Bokhoring(Bokhoring)-133: Durban – Sharks loose forward Marcell Coetzee says he plans to “wreak havoc” should he make his Springbok debut against England at Kings Park on Saturday. Kick-off is at 17:00.
Now saying you are going to give your best vs saying you are going to wreak havoc? That said, the kid can say what he wants, as long as he delivers – my expose was done for the benefit of HG, who seems to think his jibes at the Stormers chaps playing for the Boks go unnoticed. The Sharks contingent are just as open for a little attacking – fair is fair? Or isn’t it when HG and the Sharks are concerned?
8 Jun 2012, 10:48 am
@hensopper1(hensopper1)-146:
Indeed
8 Jun 2012, 10:49 am
@146 hensopper
Ha ha ha. Jeanpants is too cosmopolitan for ol’ Tacitus
8 Jun 2012, 10:49 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-147:
And you are a sharkscunt
You take umbrage at Skop’s using the word. How the heck are you different.
8 Jun 2012, 10:50 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-150: Real vlot…
8 Jun 2012, 10:50 am
@viewer(viewer)-144:
Leinster pair off hook on racism charges
By Alan Good
Monday, August 29, 2011
LEINSTER duo Steven Sykes and Heinke van der Merwe appear to have been exonerated of claims they racially abused Northampton prop Brian Mujati during the friendly at Donnybrook on Friday.
Zimbabewan Mujati wrote on his Twitter account that the South African duo called him “a ******” during scrums, but a Leinster statement claimed an exchange between Sykes and van der Merwe had been misinterpreted.
The statement read: “Following the allegations made by a Northampton Saints player, Leinster Rugby acknowledge there was an exchange during the match between two Leinster players which was misinterpreted.
“It was regrettable that any offence was caused. Both clubs have agreed that the matter is now closed and will now focus on preparing for their respective league campaigns.”
Mujati had tweeted after the game: “Steven Sykes and Heinke van der Merwe were calling me a ****** during the scrums last night. Racism is still alive and things don’t change.”
He followed with: “The guy then tries to shake my hand after the game. Naturally I kindly told him to **** off. I wish them all the best with their careers. I was shocked by how blatant they were being and to think I actually thought I knew Heinke from back in the Lions days.”
8 Jun 2012, 10:51 am
@viewer(viewer)-148:
Both players were cleared of the allegations. What does that tell you about the allegations? Some people like to cry wolf to further their own agendas.
8 Jun 2012, 10:51 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-154: Hmmm… Definitely vlot. And classy too…
Cape dy.ke coming to mind…
8 Jun 2012, 10:52 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-158:
And you literally ooze class huh.
8 Jun 2012, 10:52 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-151: I my view this Saturday the guys are no longer Sharks, Bulls or Stormers – they are Boks. End of story
8 Jun 2012, 10:53 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-156:
It sounds like Mujati has a chip on his shoulder.
8 Jun 2012, 10:54 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-156: Thank you for the evidence.
Exonerated… Which means Mujati is a lying Zanucunt.
Tries to get two Saffas in the dwang because he got farken fckedup and embarrassed on the field.
8 Jun 2012, 10:55 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-159: Full moon… hormones raging… or just vlot?
Go girly.
8 Jun 2012, 10:56 am
@151 “wreak havoc” LOL
Not even real bruisers like Bakkies, Jerry Collins, Brad Thorn or Juan Smith ever said that pre-match (to my knowledge)
8 Jun 2012, 10:56 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-163:
Vlot means fluent.
I don’t know what you think it means.
8 Jun 2012, 10:57 am
maggies ma dis lekker as almal nou saam die bokke ondesteun, ek sien hier is nog n paar NEGATIEWE mens op die site, ek verpes NEGWETIEWE mense. GO BOKKE , Blou, wit en swart, geel, wit en blou julle almal nou groen.
8 Jun 2012, 10:57 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-162:
You are a “whenwe”
Does that make you a Zapucunt
8 Jun 2012, 10:58 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-162:
Look, as much as I dislike some of the things Mujati has done or said, you can’t label him as ZANU-PF. We don’t know what his view on politics is, even if his father was a farm invader (which has not been proven, as far as I’m aware).
8 Jun 2012, 10:59 am
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-168:
This is noble.
But you are banging your head against a brick wall.
8 Jun 2012, 11:00 am
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-168:
loss die politiek man, ons praat nou rugby
8 Jun 2012, 11:03 am
EBEN is n yster, dink net as Elsatd, skalla en vermeulen nie beseer was nie sou hy dalk nie eers die eerste keuse gewees het nie. een se dood ander se brood.
8 Jun 2012, 11:03 am
@vasteses(vasteses)-170:
Moenie net met hom stry nie hy’s nie die enigste wat politiek praat nie.
8 Jun 2012, 11:04 am
@viewer(viewer)-164: These are his exact words “I want to go out there and wreak havoc. I’d be so pumped and psyched up that I’d just want to bring my physical game and contribute to the team.”
No trash talking the opposition at all.
I think he will find test rugby a lot tougher than S15, but at least a positive attitude going into the game
8 Jun 2012, 11:05 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-167: I am a South African. As South African as you are… And if thet makes me a Zapucunt, then welcome to Zapu, vlotster A dead organisation though, as dead as the genocide inflicted by Zanu to make it dead.
8 Jun 2012, 11:06 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-172:
ek pik nie op iemand, ek bedoel dit maar eintlik vir almal.
8 Jun 2012, 11:06 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-174:
You dont know the meaning of “South African”
8 Jun 2012, 11:07 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-165: Vlot means fluent…? Jy?
Heard this one: You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.
And to think you could have fooled me
8 Jun 2012, 11:07 am
@viewer(viewer)-144:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/kfgbojqleyey/rss2/
selective much..?…
it was established that the b a b o o n term used by the leinster players was in fact one of their scrum calls which were being made in afrikaans and had been done so for quite some time already. in fact the scrum call ‘b ob b e j a a n’ had been used by the leinster pack in a number of games well before the incident in question took place.
that mujati was in the northhampton pack was incidental / accidental (whichever?) and too the fact that he was/is black. he just happens to be from south africa/zim and understands the term to have a racist connotation when used by white people to describe black people (in the south african context).
that he was wrong to assume the leinster saffa players were making racist remarks towards him has to date not been admitted by either him or his club. further, he has shown himself to be a lesser person by not at the least making a statement on the incident after and at least doing something to clear the reputations of the two men he so easily and breezily expunged in a casual little twiiter rant.
he is a doos imo.
8 Jun 2012, 11:07 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-174:
FOKUK op Rugby, jou bloedruk – jou bloedruk my maat
8 Jun 2012, 11:07 am
@vasteses(vasteses)-170: Ja oom! Skies oom!
8 Jun 2012, 11:08 am
@Bokhoring(Bokhoring)-160: I usually do to. But I find it in the best interests of the community at large to educate HG in the childish game of ‘*** for tat’. He seems to think he can just ‘***’ all day, without anyone ‘tatting’. So, his Etzebeth ‘hype’ comment, thoroughly deserved a ‘tat’ in the form of a Coetzee self-hype comment.
8 Jun 2012, 11:08 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-176: Yeah…
8 Jun 2012, 11:08 am
FOKUK + Fokus sorry ne
8 Jun 2012, 11:08 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-178: If that’s the case he’s a precious w*nker
8 Jun 2012, 11:09 am
Go HG you tell the little broke back pricks.
I agree against the Sharks super Eben sort of burst the bubble a bit,hope for his sake Brad Thorne has retired,because as good as this kid could be he is no Bakkies yet.
8 Jun 2012, 11:09 am
Invading land they were dispossessed of, let’s not forget. The gun won over the spear.
8 Jun 2012, 11:11 am
@Mr Black(Mr Black)-161:
it would seem that way.
very unfair thing to have done and then not to right his wrong.
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-162:
i think he is just more of a doos person than not. whether he got scrummed or not he’d still have done something like this and not have the decency to own up, apologise.
8 Jun 2012, 11:11 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-178:
Look up ‘chip on the shoulder’ in the dictionary and you will see a picture of Mujati.
Fk he irritates me. Everyone else is at fault and he’s always the victim.
The real story came out later where that is actually a Leinster scrum call.
Do os. The Northern Hemisphere can keep him.
8 Jun 2012, 11:12 am
@mad eye(mad eye)-185: The guy’s an awesome prospect, what’s wrong with getting excited at some of the talents coming through?
8 Jun 2012, 11:13 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-178:
expunged = may not be the right word to use here..?
besmirched?
8 Jun 2012, 11:13 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-156:
“Leinster Rugby acknowledge there was an exchange during the match between two Leinster players which…”
What was the exchange?
We don’t know. Mujati was on the field to hear it. Not so likely that he would “misintepret” what was said between the two having played in SA for quite a while.
Let’s not fool each other. Things of a racial nature are said on a rugby field all the time.
8 Jun 2012, 11:14 am
Leinster should push for a public apology….bring the big-head down to earth a bit
8 Jun 2012, 11:14 am
@vasteses(vasteses)-179: Another Ode to the Boks…
We shall fight in the scrum, we shall fight on the lineouts, we shall fight in the loose and in the 22m, we shall fight on the halfway; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Bok starting side or a large part of it were good enough and skilled, then our Bench beyond the field, armed and ready by the Bok coaching Kings, would carry on the struggle, until, in Heynekes good time, the New Boks, with all their power and might, step forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old….
Here’s to a NEW ERA…
Heyneke’s ERA…
8 Jun 2012, 11:14 am
181
Now that is a real brokeback comment can just see you in your gold lame tights all limp wristed ,titting and tatting.
8 Jun 2012, 11:16 am
HG, if you are not being tongue in cheek most of the time, then you need a psychological/mental health intervention ASAP
8 Jun 2012, 11:16 am
Ten Husbands …
A lawyer married a woman who had previously divorced ten husbands.
On their wedding night, she told her new husband, “Please be gentle, I’m still a virgin.”
…
“What?” said the puzzled groom.
“How can that be if you’ve been married ten times?”
“Well, Husband #1 was a sales representative: he kept telling me how great it was going to be.
Husband #2 was in software services: he was never really sure how it was supposed to function, but he said he’d look into it and get back to me.
Husband #3 was from field services: he said everything checked out diagnostically but he just couldn’t get the system up.
Husband #4 was in telemarketing: even though he knew he had the order, he didn’t know when he would be able to deliver.
Husband #5 was an engineer: he understood the basic process but wanted three years to research, implement, and design a new state-of-the-art method.
Husband #6 was from finance and administration: he thought he knew how, but he wasn’t sure whether it was his job or not.
Husband #7 was in marketing: although he had a nice product, he was never sure how to position it.
Husband #8 was a psychologist: all he ever did was talk about it.
Husband #9 was a gynaecologist: all he did was look at it.
Husband #10 was a stamp collector: all he ever did was… God! I miss him! But now that I’ve married you, I’m really excited!”
“Good,” said the new husband, “but, why?”
“You’re a lawyer. This time I know I’m gonna get screwed!”
8 Jun 2012, 11:17 am
@nama1(nama1)-191: Ok so if you’re braaing at Cape Point and someone yells “******” does that automatically mean it’s directed at a black person?
Maybe it should be written into the constitution that no white person may make mention of any type of primate or ****** in the direct vicinity of a POC, just in case it gets misconstrued.
8 Jun 2012, 11:17 am
@vasteses(vasteses)-183: Geen probleem, ek Fokuk nou…
8 Jun 2012, 11:18 am
THE BLACK BRA
The Black Bra (as told by a woman)
I had lunch with 2 of my unmarried friends.
One is engaged, one is a mistress, and I have been married for 20+ years.
We were chatting about our relationships and decided to amaze our men by greeting them at the door wearing a black bra, stiletto heels and a mask over our eyes. We agreed to meet in a few days to exchange notes..
Here’s how it all went.
My engaged friend :
The other night when my boyfriend came over he found me with a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask.
He saw me and said, ‘You are the woman of my dreams.
I love you.’ Then we made passionate love all nightlong.
The mistress:
Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing a raincoat, under it only the black bra, heels and Mask over my eyes. When I opened the raincoat he didn’t say a word, but he started to tremble and we had wild *** all night.
Then I had to share my story:
When my husband came home I was wearing the black bra,
Black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes.
When he came in the door and saw me he said,
“What’s for dinner, Zorro?”
8 Jun 2012, 11:19 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-187: 100%
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