Father of Springboks captain, Eben Etzebeth, dies after battle with illness

Springboks’ stand-in skipper Eben Etzebeth will be given time to decide his availability for this weekend’s Test against the All Blacks after his father, Harry, passed away on Tuesday night in Cape Town.

News of the tragedy was shared by leading South African rugby writer Hendrik Cronje, who revealed it via social media.

Cronje also confirmed that the decision on whether Etzebeth will remain in New Zealand to participate in the Test against the All Blacks at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday, or whether he will return to South Africa, will be made by him.

According to South African media reports, Harry was battling an illness which meant he could not travel.

That led to Eben making a request to Springbok management for him to play against Wales in Bloemfontein last year as he wanted to make his 100th appearance in Cape Town a week later during the three-Test series.

Current SA Rugby Player of the Year

Etzebeth, who was crowned as the 2022 SA Rugby Player of the Year in January, suffered a shoulder injury in the Sharks’ Champions Cup round-of-16 victory over Munster in Durban on April 1 and was on the sidelines for a lengthy period.

At the time, it was said that the Springbok enforcer would be sidelined for up to 16 weeks, but he has recovered earlier than expected and was set to return to action as the Boks’ captain this weekend.

The 31-year-old was due to lead his country for the 13th time in his 111th Springbok appearance in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test.

His last Test as captain was on July 20, 2019 against Australia at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg.

Etzebeth is leading the Boks in the absence of regular captain Siya Kolisi, who suffered a knee injury while on duty for the Sharks in April but is set to return when South Africa play three World Cup warm-up games in August.

READ MORE: Eben Etzebeth to lead much-changed Springboks against All Blacks