Bok lock Eben Etzebeth says this weekend's clash against Ireland is a different challenge and that the team isn't thinking about last year's drawn series in SA.
With the Springboks having lost two locks, Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert, to permanent red cards over the last two weekends, experienced second row enforcer Eben Etzebeth was this week quizzed about the team’s preparations, especially around the tackle, and if the tall locks were doing anything differently.
The Boks clash with Ireland in Dublin on Saturday in their fourth tour match this November. They have so far beaten Japan, France and Italy.
De Jager was red carded for a poor head high tackle in the match against France, while Mostert was sent from the field in Turin at the weekend for a similar tackle.
“Luckily Rassie (Erasmus, coach) picked six locks in the squad,” said Etzebeth.
“We don’t know what is going to happen (in hearings) with Lood (de Jager) and Franco (Mosert). But we’ve still got myself, JK (Jean Kleyn), Ruan Nortje and RG (Snyman).
“We’ve also got guys like Pieter-Steph (du Toit) and Ben-Jason (Dixon) who can cover lock, so I don’t think it (losing two players) affects us much going into the game.
“But we just have to be aware of making that level change (when we tackle), and you would assume if you did that you would always be safe and get the benefit of the doubt. So for me personally, I will just keep playing the game I play and I feel the other locks feel the same.”
De Jager has appealed against his four-match ban, while Mostert is awaiting his fate.
Etzebeth didn’t feature in the Test against Italy, but is expected to be back this weekend for the clash at the Aviva Stadium.
Series decider at the Aviva?
He said the Boks weren’t looking at the encounter as a “series decider” after last year’s two Test series in South Africa ended 1-1. The Boks won the opener 27-20 at Loftus, before a drop goal from Ciaran Frawley on the fulltime hooter gave the Irish a breathtaking 25-24 win in Durban.
At the time, many pundits and fans lamented what a shame it was that there wouldn’t be a series decider. With this weekend’s match the first meeting between the team since last July, Etzebeth was on Monday asked if the Boks were taking any motivation from that series.
“No, I wouldn’t say so. It is a completely different challenge. We are playing in Ireland against them, and that was a year and a half ago. We’ve seen how a lot can happen in rugby in one week. So I think there has been a lot of change since that game,” explained Etzebeth.
“But it is going to be an exciting match and we are looking forward to it. They are obviously a great team. They’ve been in the top three of the world rankings for the last couple of years, so they are a quality side.
“Looking at the fixtures at the start of the year it was one of the matches that stood out. So we are excited for this weekend and it’s going to be a good clash.”
