Clad in a bucket hat and a pair of flip-flops as he looks out over St Brelade’s Bay on the island of Jersey, Eben Etzebeth is so laidback that he is virtually horizontal. It is a difficult image to square with the reputation of the most-capped Springboks of all time – for more than a decade, Etzebeth has served as the enforcer of the toughest team in the world, a one-man brute squad who matches his colossal contributions with remarkable consistency.
It is not quite a Jekyll and Hyde transformation when he steps across the white line but the contrast is striking. “In preparation is when the personality changes a bit,” Etzebeth explains to The Independent. “When we are out on the field training, there’s no time to be laidback. I’m a firm believer that the way you train is the way you play on the weekend. On the pitch, my mindset switches.”
The thumping Etzebeth stands out even among the Springboks’ collection of megafauna. In part, that is due to his 6ft 8in stature, but also due to his sense of permanence within this South African set-up. Where others rotate in and out with relative regularity, it is somewhat rare to find a side without the 33-year-old in it.
Uncompromising and unrelenting, Etzebeth’s intelligence perhaps goes underrated. He is a key part of a leadership group that helps fine-tune some of head coach Rassie Erasmus’s more madcap ideas, while his game-changing intervention on his own tryline in last year’s World Cup quarter-final against France was the sort of high IQ play few locks are able to make.
He also knows where to draw the line in the heat of battle, his disciplinary record showing a player neither thuggish nor thoughtless. “You can’t be reckless like you could be 20, 30 years ago,” he jokes with a roguish smile, before explaining how hard he works on staying within the bounds of the lawbook.
“It is sometimes difficult. You are supposed to know the laws and what you can and can’t do. I always try to stick within the laws when there is a scuffle. When tempers are flaring, you can’t go overboard. When play is happening, you have to get your tackle and cleanout technique right. The onus will always be on the player to get in those extras and make sure you don’t cost your team with a yellow or red card.”
That team-first attitude exudes from Etzebeth. Where other individuals might have sought the spotlight that accompanied his passing of Victor Matfield’s Springboks cap record, the lock was reluctant to speak to the media about a significant milestone. Even now, he wishes to dodge the topic.
“I try not to think too much about it – which is difficult because people keep on reminding me! There is so much I can still push my body for to represent this country. Rugby is such a big team sport. I don’t like making it about a certain individual or myself. I just want to put my head down and keep working. The main thing for me will always be between those white lines.
“Definitely as I’ve got older, the more I’ve gone head down. When you are young, you aren’t as used to the lights and the fame, so you look around and go, ‘wow’. But you soon realise that you’ve got to just keep on working hard. As soon as you think you’ve arrived, that’s when you might get found out a bit.”
Etzebeth plays coy as to his goals for the future, but a fourth World Cup feels within reach for a player still at the top of his game. The taste of tournament victory was all the sweeter in Paris last year as he shared in the triumph with wife Anlia van Rensburg, a singer and actor who delivered a memorable rendition of the South African anthem before her husband’s 100th cap.
Cap 130 comes at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, this weekend, with Etzebeth gearing up for another clash with Maro Itoje. When The Independent spoke to the England second row recently, he swerved talk of any individual duel, and his South African rival does likewise.
“You come up against a lot of great locks in world rugby. It’s never really a one-on-one battle.”
But then comes an intriguing admission. “If there was one lock I’d love to play with one day, it would be Maro. I keep on preparing to play against him and wondering what his thoughts are; it would be nice to play in the same team for a change. We go hard at each other on the field but off the field there is that respect.”
Having taken the captaincy last week against Scotland, Etzebeth hands over the duties to best mate Siya Kolisi as the flanker returns to the starting side. The pair’s friendship extends back 15 years, the two men sharing in successes and providing succour in times of stress or strain.
“When he was 19, he decided to come to Western Province where I was,” Etzebeth says of the origins of their tight bonds. “From the first week, we just enjoyed each other’s company, and that’s never stopped.
“We are roommates, we’ve been friends for 15 years. He’s like a brother. When things go well or bad with him, I feel it; when things go bad for me, he feels it. We celebrate and mourn together. That’s what happens when you are two brothers, almost. My family love him – he’s always welcome at my house for Christmas or whatever.
“The Springboks the most special group I have been a part of. It’s an easy answer to give. The individuals will come and go, but there’s been a core group that has stayed together for the last six or seven years. They are like my brothers. You really get to know each other and care for each other.”
