Eben Etzebeth fit! Springboks star makes ‘miraculous’ recovery for All Blacks clash
Springbok Eben Etzebeth during a warm-up.
The Springboks received a boost on the eve of Saturday’s Test with the All Blacks in Johannesburg after it was confirmed that Eben Etzebeth has been declared fit for the encounter.
The 32-year-old will take his place amongst the replacements, as the Boks had no second-row cover in their initial squad, and comes in on the bench at the expense of flanker Marco van Staden.
Etzebeth was initially left out of South Africa’s matchday 23 due to a knee injury but Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus hinted on Tuesday that he could recover in time to be involved in the highly anticipated Rugby Championship clash.
“Eben did the whole training session on Monday and we need to see how Tuesday’s one goes, from where I’ll have a chat with all the players to see if we’ll make a change,” said Erasmus at the time.
“He may miraculously recover, and the doctor said there was some science behind that and not just the will to play for the big occasion like the All Blacks.
“If that’s the case, we’ll be happy, but it will be very unlucky in terms of Elrigh, Marco or Kwagga in terms of being left out.
“We’ll think clearly, see how Pieter-Steph moves, from where we’ll make the call.”
However, the behemoth second-row has recovered and will offer back-up to the starting locks Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje.
If Etzebeth takes to the field against the All Blacks on Saturday he will make his 125th appearance for South Africa.
Set to become?second most capped Springbok
That means he will move ahead of Bryan Habana as the second most capped Springbok of all time and edge closer to Victor Matfield’s Springbok Test record of 127 caps.
“Our selection policy has always been that if a player does not train on a Monday he will not play on Saturday, but Eben has made it through training pain-free all week, so we had to make the tough call to name him in the squad at the expense of Marco,” said Erasmus.
“There were back-up options for us at lock in the initial squad, but with Eben on the bench it means we have another specialist in that position in the team.
“We are blessed to have an expanded squad of about 45 players who have all bought into our plans and who understand what’s best for the team, and it’s admirable how Marco accepted the news. It shows the quality of the player and person he is.”
Erasmus also confirmed on Tuesday that four players – Steven Kitshoff (prop), Manie Libbok (fly-half), Canan Moodie and Makazole Mapimpi (both wings) – have been released to their provincial unions to get game time in the Currie Cup this weekend.
Springboks team to play All Blacks
Springboks (revised): 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard
Date: Saturday, August 31
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17:00 local time (16:00 BST, 15:00 GMT, 03:00 NZST)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
