Eben Etzebeth ‘devastated’ after eye-gouging ban as Sharks put Springboks lock to work

Outgoing Sharks boss John Plumtree says that Eben Etzebeth is ‘devastated’ by his 12-game ban after being found guilty of intentionally eye-gouging Wales’ Alex Mann.

The Durbanites will field the brunt of the lock’s ban as he will serve the entirety of the suspension at club level, sidelining him through to March next year.

Far from ideal

The Springbok conceded during his disciplinary hearing that his actions warranted a red card but argued that it was accidental. The panel disagreed and handed down the 12-match suspension as the second-rower was not afforded the full 50% mitigation.

Plumtree, who will step down as the Sharks head coach after the clash against Toulouse on Sunday, addressed Etzebeth’s ban and explained that he was de-registered from the Investec Champions Cup squad simply as an ‘admin’ exercise because of the length of the suspension.

“💬 “He’s very remorseful.” . Obviously, he knows what an impact it can have on a club like ours,” the New Zealander said.

He added: “It’s not ideal, is it? Eben’s devastated. It’s a big blow for us. He’s one of our star players – a huge part of our tight five and our leadership – so it’s not ideal at all.”

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Etzebeth to lend a hand

Plumtree says that the Sharks will do some planning around Etzebeth’s absence, with several locks coming back into the mix, but added that the club will be putting the experienced lock to work during his suspension.

“At least now we know what the ban is, and we can plan forward,” he said.

“We’ve got a couple of injured players like Corne Rahl – who’ll hopefully be available by the end of December. And of course we’ve got Jason Jenkins, Emile van Heerden, Marvin Orie … if we can get four or five locks ready by Christmas, that’ll be great.”

Adding: “He will come and do some coaching with our juniors. He’ll help out some of our seniors as well. He needs to be around. He’ll take a break now, obviously. He’s got a pretty young family, but we’ll get him doing some tasks for us which will help.”

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