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, 14:33 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-395: Ah, daahling thats schweet of you…
8 Jun 2012, 14:34 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-386: Jirre you gonna be unplayable till tomorrow afternoon aren;t you?
8 Jun 2012, 14:34 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-394:
Pretoria is not a bad place at all, but it is not Cape Town. Still have my houses in Cape Town and will be moving home soon. Have made some great friends although they are blue blood brothers. I told them they are never too old to change to the better connection…
8 Jun 2012, 14:36 pm
397
That wouldn’t be half as funny if you hadn’t posted it to yourself,cretin
8 Jun 2012, 14:36 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-396:
Hout Bay is great. You got your passport?
8 Jun 2012, 14:38 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-404: Well you got the message didn’t you? Now humour me please. I have only one question I need to ask you, for the greater good and benefit of mankind. Have you procreated – yes or no?
8 Jun 2012, 14:39 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-395:
cool… i’m there quite often…
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-395:
i have a new computer and am too dof to have managed the email properly… so don;t have anyone’s email anymore… but will be there if and when…
8 Jun 2012, 14:39 pm
Have a good suck on this haters – http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Cape-Town-1-of-10-most-loved-cities-CNN-20120608
8 Jun 2012, 14:39 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-405: Apparently the place is crawling with swingers too. Promising. Haha!
8 Jun 2012, 14:43 pm
Dogbreath why don’t you come up here for the game,I would enjoy showing you the real Sharks rugby pedigree.
Something that a little boy like you who has grown up with only his father’s fading memory of former glory to draw on,needs to understand.
Little friend the Sharks pedigree is something you and your toothless friends will never have.
8 Jun 2012, 14:45 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-409:
Ja that is what makes it such a great place… LOL
8 Jun 2012, 14:45 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-400: I dont think so… Was told this today by a knowledgeable colleague…
Fe Fi Fo Fum… We smell the Blood of an Englishmun…
Good’un…
8 Jun 2012, 14:45 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-408:
Damn it makes me homesick…
8 Jun 2012, 14:46 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-403: I was there as a student, in Sunnyside’s heyday, just as Hatfield started to develop. Interesting times.
8 Jun 2012, 14:47 pm
Dogbreath what are your rugby credentials.
Look I know it is common for h o m o ‘s to trawl rugby sites to talk to men.
I have strong suspicion that you are one of them.
I hope I am wrong because then unfortunately ,I probably have been responsible for you spanking the ****** at the moment.
8 Jun 2012, 14:48 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-412: I think we’re going to see some broken english bodies on the field after tomorrow…Go Bokke!!
8 Jun 2012, 14:48 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-410: Lol… Maloog…Fuckimup sixlove…
Try be gentle… He’s Sensissitive soul…
8 Jun 2012, 14:49 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-414:
Really. Things have changed drastically now. Sunnyside is a no go area and Hatfield – well it buzzes with Tuks students. Varsity Holidays it’s similar to Grahamstown…
8 Jun 2012, 14:50 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-416: Straightshooting, fellow Bok fan… Time for Green and Gold machine…
8 Jun 2012, 14:50 pm
412
Yeah we had it above a visual of a Great White.
Unfortunately that was the day that the Lions unleashed all their rugby league players and the Sharks got a good hiding.
8 Jun 2012, 14:51 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-418: Pity about Sunnyside. Esselen Street was a really cool spot. All sorts of interesting bars, clubs, coffee shops, tattoo parlours, music shops etc.
8 Jun 2012, 14:52 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-410: @mad eye(mad eye)-410: The ‘real’ Sharks rugby pedigree? Where would you find a Currie Cup B section team for me to watch? Unless you are planning on taking me to watch a Grey College Free State game or a Cheetahs S15 game, or even an EP Kings game – that’s a lot of Sharks pedigree right there?
My toothless friends and I thank you for sharing.
8 Jun 2012, 14:52 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-403:
look forward to having you back…
8 Jun 2012, 14:53 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-415: You must be a real hit with the ladies? Those that ask for cash up front of course, but a hit none the less.
8 Jun 2012, 14:54 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-400:
Yup, there were 9 WP and 1 Boland player in that side.
8 Jun 2012, 14:54 pm
Dogbreath
Lets hear about your rugby pedigree.
Quick I am waiting.
8 Jun 2012, 14:57 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-421:
I know it was a buzz. Sad indeed.
@ufo(ufo)-423:
Never got rid of my properties mate. I can move quite easily. In CT very often, like three times a month.
8 Jun 2012, 14:58 pm
Guys I have to run. The mood is great – we are all supporting the same team for a change…
Go Bokke…
Speak soon chaps…
8 Jun 2012, 14:59 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-426: My pedigree? Let’s just say thoroughbred. Yours?
8 Jun 2012, 15:00 pm
425
That was a great side.
Who was the coach ???
must have been 84.
Can’t work out why Naas wasn’t playing,because he played before that in New Zealand on the flour bomb tour,and after that, he was captain when we came out of isolation.
Why was Tobias there,he had an amazing game though.
I
8 Jun 2012, 15:00 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-421:
Is that near the Hotel 224?
8 Jun 2012, 15:01 pm
What these Proud as Punch winkys dont mention is that Cape Towns Pride is way below Shanghai and Petra in the rankings… Fark, have you been to Shanghai? And Petra? Petra is not a farken city in the modern sense of the word…
One fcked list thats for sure…I suppose it belongs there, what with San Francisco being on the same list… Catch my drift… wink, wink
There’s another list just as bad on CNN go…
Top cities for Men:
London
Mumbai
Rio de Janeiro
Washington, D.C.
Shanghai
WTF… Mumbai, DC?
8 Jun 2012, 15:02 pm
429
That says it all ,
Q.E.D.
8 Jun 2012, 15:04 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-430:
Cecil Moss and Stoberg captain. 35-9.
15 was the forgotten great of Bok rugby 15s, Johan Heunis.
8 Jun 2012, 15:04 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-420: I remember now… When Andy Aitken was still a Shark…
Maloog, I think I may know who you are…
8 Jun 2012, 15:06 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-435: Well he certainly sounds like one who has taken far too many knocks to the head on a rugby field. (In the pre ‘Boksmart’ days)
8 Jun 2012, 15:07 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-401:
I’ll even buy you a Horse’s Neck, old chap. How about it?
8 Jun 2012, 15:08 pm
434
14 Ray mordt,13 Danie Gerber,12 Michael,11Carel,10 Tobias,
9 Robert duPreez ????
8 Jun 2012, 15:09 pm
Enjoy the evening all. Even you Malogie (although you do need to lighten up a bit, as you seem to take things on here a little personally).
8 Jun 2012, 15:10 pm
436
Love to give you one to the head go trawl your own pages now with your own people.
8 Jun 2012, 15:12 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-438:
9 Divan Serfontein. 10 Errol 14 Avril Williams, 12 Danie 13 John Villet., 11 Carel.
8 Jun 2012, 15:13 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-430: We’re you in a coma in the eighties? Naas was banned for playing pro football in the States. I guess you were too busy Natals progress in the Sport Pienasr Trophy.
8 Jun 2012, 15:14 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-427:
cool stuff…
8 Jun 2012, 15:17 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-428:
cheers bill…
8 Jun 2012, 15:18 pm
if we had to post according to our rugby pedigrees…
we’d all be looking at a blank blog…!!
8 Jun 2012, 15:21 pm
The HG Top Eight Cities list…
1. Durban… Rugby
2. Pretoria… Home. For now
3. London… everything except Jan/feb darkness
4. Cardiff… Rugby nights
5. Berlin… “interesting” sleazy night clubs
6. Munich… Beer
7. New York… Cwaaffee
8. Barca… Cathar Women.
Bottom 4…
999 Paris… French Cu.nts
1000 Cape Town… Same and Airport shanties
1001 Cairo… Arab Cu.nts
1002 Abuja… African Cu.nts
8 Jun 2012, 15:24 pm
442
Sorry my memory of those days is not as fresh as yours, it means more to you cause you guys used to win trophys then.
I had actually forgotten about Naas’s stint with the Dallas Cowboys..
I don’t think he was banned because he came back to captain the Boks.
I know he was captain against the Aussies and Ab’s.
and this game we are talking about was a genuine test not a rebel test,those came later,and I now he never played against the Cavaliers.
441
that is not the team,I remember Michael and Ray playing
8 Jun 2012, 15:24 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-446:
Bigot.
8 Jun 2012, 15:24 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-430:
naas joined the dallas cowboys in the early 80s… for a year.. or was it 2….
surely a rugby aficionado like you would know that…
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-439:
cheers
8 Jun 2012, 15:24 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-440: Lol… A good one… square on the pip.
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