Eben Etzebeth’s favourite moment versus All Blacks after ‘some embarrassments’ and how he reacted when Springboks named 7/1 ‘nuke squad’ bench
The Springboks celebrate a Canan Moodie try against the All Blacks in 2023 before it was disallowed and, inset, Eben Etzebeth goes on the carry in that Twickenham match
Legendary Springbok Eben Etzebeth has chosen his favourite match versus the All Blacks – and it’s not the 2023 Rugby World Cup final victory in Paris.
South Africa memorably defeated New Zealand 12-11 in the Stade de France decider three years ago, but record Boks caps holder Etzebeth has singled out a different match against the All Blacks as the one he most fondly remembers.
The 34-year-old has represented his country in 141 Test matches since debuting in 2012 and reckons he has taken on New Zealand more than 20 times.
Ahead of the upcoming Greatest Rivalry tour, the series where South Africa will play New Zealand four times, Etzebeth has appeared on Boks Unpacked, the show co-hosted by former internationals Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and Hanyani Shimange.
“It was nice to give it back to them…”
Asked to single out his favourite memory from all his encounters against the All Blacks, Etzebeth said: “Favourite moment? Probably that game before the World Cup in 2023 where we won 35-7.
“They obviously got a few over me in the past, some big scores, so that was quite satisfying… They have handed me some embarrassments in the past with big scorelines, so it was nice to give it back to them.”
That August 2023 fixture at Twickenham was the night coach Rassie Erasmus selected a bench featuring seven forwards and just one back.
It was, as Burger suggested, the moment when the bomb squad became the nuke squad, and it helped to transform a 14-0 interval lead into what was then a record victory by a 28-point margin.
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Asked how he reacted when he learned from the Springbok head coach that he intended to switch up from a six/two bench split and go with the seven/one tactic, Etzebeth said: “We played Wales in a warm-up game before New Zealand. I wasn’t ready for the Wales game and then the Sunday I went to the gym and he [Erasmus] was sitting there in the foyer.
“I walked past and he was like, ‘Are you ready next week?’ I was, ‘Yes, coach’. He said, ‘Good because you are only going to have to play about 45 minutes because we are thinking of going 7/1’.
“I walked on, walked into the gym and just laughed. I was so happy to hear it. The 6/2 was a big thing but we went 7/1 and I was, ‘This guy is just different’.
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“I was so excited because you can go balls to the wall for 45 minutes and then you come off and the next guy does the job.” Etzebeth then mischievously quipped: “I am so excited for the 8/0 split. With Andre (Esterhuizen), we can probably do it.”
A recent Boks Unpacked series feature has been for guests chosen on its Springboks dream team being asked to select a player who played in their position for inclusion on an All Blacks dream team.
Dan Carter, Aaron Smith, Richie McCaw and Sam Whitelock were the four All Blacks already named in the side when the question was put to Etzebeth: which New Zealand lock would he pick to partner Whitelock, the player selected by Victor Matfield.
“I have played in most Test matches against Brodie (Retallick). He is also a former world player of the year, so I am going to have to say Brodie. Hopefully, I’ll play a few more and there’s other guys coming through but for now it’s going to have to be him.”
