Eben Etzebeth details the shocking events that resulted in Heyneke Meyer’s refusal to coach Springboks
Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth and an inset of ex-head coach Heyneke Meyer.
Johann van Graan has been tipped to be a future head coach of the Springboks, but Eben Etzebeth has revealed that he has already coached the side in a Test match.
This occurred in 2014 when Heyneke Meyer was so furious with the squad that he refused to coach them and handed over the reins to his assistant coach at the time, Van Graan.
The Springboks had just defeated England 31-28 at Twickenham Stadium, but the then-head coach was far from pleased by the performance and the actions of the players, including some of the senior squad members.
Heyneke was still furious
Etzebeth was one of the younger members of the team, along with the likes of Marcell Coetzee, Jan Serfontein, and Johan Goosen.
Now the most capped Springbok of all-time, the second rower detailed the events ahead of the match against England in his autobiography Unlocked.
“Some senior players arrived late for a meeting and another was late for the jersey handover on Friday,” Etzebeth wrote.
“We still won and extended our unbeaten record against England to 12 matches, but Heyneke was still furious the following week and told the senior players that he wanted nothing to do with them.
“He basically withdrew his services from the match against Italy and handed over the reins to Johann van Graan, his assistant coach.
“It was a strange time for me because I had looked up to those senior players since I was a kid, and they could do nothing wrong in my eyes.
South Africa would go on to defeat Italy 22-6 in Padua under the tutelage of Van Graan, courtesy of tries from Coenie Oosthuizen, Cobus Reinach, and Bryan Habana.
However, their tour would end in a 6-12 defeat to Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, which was the second loss that the Boks suffered on that tour after falling to a 29-15 defeat to Ireland.
Van Graan and Erasmus’ futures
In an interview with Planet Rugby earlier this year, after winning the Premiership with Bath, Van Graan addressed his future and the possibility of coaching the Springboks.
“I love what I’m doing here. I’ve been with the Springboks before, they’ve got a phenomenal coach in Rassie, a phenomenal team, they’ve won the World Cup back-to-back, so they’re in very good hands,” he said.
“When you want to become the national coach of your team, a lot of people have got to put belief in you.
“That’s outside of my control for now. I’m here at Bath, loving this journey with this group of staff and players, and I’m just thankful.”
The job doesn’t look to be opening up anytime soon, either with Erasmus reportedly in talks to extend his contract with SA Rugby beyond the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
SA Rugby also wants Erasmus to stay in the role, but the current stumbling block is that the head coach wants his assistants’ contracts extended, too.
READ MORE: Rassie Erasmus demand ‘complicating negotiations’ as SA Rugby risk losing Springboks boss
