Etzebeth is new Bok bruiser

As he leans casually in a doorway at the South African team hotel in the Dublin suburbs, his near six feet and eight inches topped with a boyish mop of hair, the quiet presence of Eben Etzebeth appears at odds with his burgeoning reputation as the Springboks’ newest hard man.

He has the height, for sure, that make second rows consider the NBA as a viable option but the newly-turned 21-year-old from Cape Town chatting to reporters ahead of this weekend’s Test with Ireland does not look the enforcer type.

Yet a quick search through the Etzebeth highlight reel suggests otherwise and anyone who takes a peek at the young Stormers lock barrelling through the formidable frame of Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis during a Super XV game this summer will be left under no illusion that this kid is more than capable of filling the gap left by Bakkies Botha.

Eztebeth, ball in hand, left du Plessis flat out on the turf and requiring lengthy medical attention following his hit and he followed that up on Springboks’ duty in a dust-up with another veteran in the form of Nathan Sharpe, attempting to headbutt the Australia lock in a rash act that indicated the young South African is not exactly boy next door material.

It, and the two-week ban that followed, also suggests Etzebeth is far from the finished article and while his physical approach will give Ireland and many other Test sides cause for concern in the coming weeks, months and seasons, Springbok head coach Heyneke Meyer, who handed the lock his debut in June against England, has already reminded his emerging star of his responsibilities.

Did Meyer come down hard on Etzebeth? “Yeah, he did, and I think it was a good thing,” Etzebeth replied. “He told me I mustn’t do it, otherwise I would get a reputation. I think what he did was the right thing. But he still supported me and he still backs me and for that I thank him.”

Did it teach him a lesson, then? “Yeah, for sure. I didn’t do it again, so obviously, yeah.”

Cleaning up his act, though, does not require Etzebeth to compromise his physicality in any shape or form and he appears destined for more YouTube hits like the one on Bismarck du Plessis.

“In South Africa people still talk about that. It’s over now but I like playing that way. I like running with the ball and it’s obviously nice if you run at the other player.

“In South Africa, if you play with the number four on your back that is your role, to be the enforcer and try to inflict pain in hitting rucks and making big tackles. Obviously I know the responsibility of that, yeah. That is part of wearing number four.”

As for the comparisons with Botha, Etzebeth feels he has more in common with current, albeit injured Boks’ second row, Andries Bekker, whom he cites as his rugby hero.

“Obviously I watched (Bakkies) because I watched Springbok rugby. I watched probably all of his games. I just focus on my own stuff. The guy who influences me is Andries Bekker; he is actually my mentor.’’

Etzebeth is also a product of his upbringing in a tough Cape Town neighbourhood.

“My parents and family, when they grew up they had quite a tough life. I think my parents always wanted the best for me and gave it to me. It is probably in my blood,” he said.

Becoming Springbok number 833, as he did in June in that first Test against England, certainly represented the realisation of a long-held ambition. “Since I was a young boy I wanted to be a Springbok. At the beginning of the year the only thing I was worried about was getting into the Stormers first XV. Then my ambitions became a little bit higher and I wanted more. It all happened so fast.”