Townsfolk speak out on Etzebeth’s ‘Wolf Pack’ gang
● Racism and assault accusations against Eben Etzebeth at his Rugby World Cup going-away party are just the tip of the iceberg, Langebaan residents said this week.
The 27-year-old lock forward and his so-called “Wolf Pack” are notorious in the west coast town for their thuggery, said South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) acting legal head Buang Jones.
The new allegations will add to the pressure on South African Rugby to act against the 2.03m-tall star, who was substituted after 53 minutes of the Boks’ 49-3 victory over Italy on Friday.
The victory, which guarantees the Boks a quarterfinal berth, came as the HRC filed Equality Court applications on Friday on behalf of four coloured Langebaan residents who accuse Etzebeth of assault, wielding a firearm and hate speech. They are claiming R1m from the player.
SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has rejected calls to suspend Etzebeth and send him home from Japan. “What if it transpires in a few weeks that the player is actually innocent? He can take us to the cleaners. We have to protect the organisation,” he said.
But Langebaan residents said the August 24 incident that placed Etzebeth in the HRC’s crosshairs was just the latest involving the Wolf Pack.
They told the Sunday Times the 123kg player usually stood with his arms folded and looked on when the Wolf Pack became involved in violence.
The owner of a Club Mykonos restaurant said Etzebeth was involved in a fight on New Year’s Eve. “He and his brother
and his burly cousin were involved in a fight next door. It was after midnight when he [Eben Etzebeth] head-butted someone,” the owner said.
“People are scared of him, these guys are very rough. My question is, why wasn’t he arrested? They’re above the law. No-one opens cases against them.
“In these small towns the police try to keep their case numbers low because it looks like they have their town under control.”
Jones told an HRC media briefing in Cape Town on Friday that more people were coming forward with information about the Wolf Pack.
“A white compatriot, an elderly pensioner, has brought to my attention that there are other allegations against the Etzebeths that have not been handled properly and he would like the commission to also intervene,” said Jones.
“We were told last night by the community that Mr Etzebeth and his friends, they call themselves the Wolf Pack gang, they have been terrorising communities on the west coast and they would like the commission to intervene.”
Etzebeth’s lawyer, Andre Calitz, told the Sunday Times yesterday that his client denies any involvement in any physical assault or the use of racial slurs. Calitz said that a day or two before leaving for the World Cup, Etzebeth met with the HRC to provide a statement, and the commission agreed that the probe would wait until after the World Cup.
“It seems they’ve made a U-turn on that,” said Calitz.
Meanwhile, a member of Langebaan Yacht Club, where the Wolf Pack began Etzebeth’s going-away party on August 24, has written to the club’s commodore and executive committee about the group’s behaviour.
In an e-mail seen by the Sunday Times, Victor Khan says Etzebeth caused a fight after making derogatory comments about other club members. Khan confirmed yesterday that he had sent the e-mail, but declined to comment further.
His e-mail said: “It is with a saddened heart that I am needing to address this matter with you, now knowing how far that evening has gone with Mr Etzebeth.”
He said Etzebeth had been at the yacht club with a “huge crew” of people. “Whilst there they made derogatory comments of ‘h ***** s’ and a fight broke out.
“I am not usually one to not say anything, but due to the amount of people he had brought in there I felt a bit intimidated, as they were very verbally aggressive and continuously used derogatory terms to the coloured/black race.”
Khan, who owns a breakdown service in Cape Town, said he was making a formal complaint on behalf of other members who witnessed the incident.
“I have been a member now for many years with the yacht club, and [I am] proud that I can use this family establishment with my family right down to my grandchildren,” he said.
“We have fought hard to get to where we are today personally and as a country. I … am concerned that someone like this that should be a role model to our youth and a representative of our country is allowed to even be at our establishment or even a part thereof.”
He asked club commodore Johan Kroukamp how Etzebeth came to be a member, as there is a 2,000-name waiting list, and inquired whether the rugby player’s “guests” signed the visitors’ register.
Kroukamp said he had received Khan’s email and the club had met the HRC. “We told them everything we knew, we’ve done our bit,” he said, declining to comment further.
From the yacht club that night, the Wolf Pack went to a nearby pub where they are regulars, Die Watergat, and a brawl broke out.
A bartender said the evening followed the usual pattern. “[Etzebeth] causes trouble, chirping people and calling them names, and when someone tries something his brother and his cousin and their friends will fight and he just stands there with his arms folded,” he said.
It was about 3am when Etzebeth allegedly wanted to show off his Ford Mustang to his friends. He allegedly retaliated with a racial slur after someone threw an object at his car.
Witness Lelanie Ox said he shouted: “Don’t you ‘h ******* e’ have anything better to do on a Saturday evening?”
Etzebeth’s friends then carried out an assault, she said, which left a 42-year-old homeless man, Enver Blaauw, needing hospital treatment.
A 21-year-old kick-boxer, who asked not to be named, told the Sunday Times he became involved in the fight after confronting Etzebeth about using racial slurs.
“I saw that they were fighting and I told them to stop, this isn’t right. Then there were four guys in front of me. One of them had a gun. Etzebeth was standing over Enver Blaauw there, a little away from me,” he said. “Then these guys started hitting me. One of them had a firearm, he pistol-whipped me over and over again on my face and head. Then I blacked out.”
The man said Etzebeth was not one of his assailants. “How could he be hitting me if he was standing there with [the other victim]?”
But he had heard the rugby player using racial slurs. “What he said wasn’t right. What happened that night wasn’t right from both sides, but he’s a person with stature, he shouldn’t be doing stuff like that.”
The experience had left him traumatised, he said.
“I never thought I would see something like that. I grew up with people of all races and I’ve just never had to deal with that sort of hate.”
Another witness, who asked not to be named as she had been told by her lawyer not to talk to the media, said she feared Etzebeth would attack her too as she was one of four women who stood up to him.
She showed the Sunday Times a photograph she took on her phone with Etzebeth on another night when, she said, he bought her five ciders.
“I used to be a big fan of his. He’s a nice guy when he’s alone, then he’s very calm.
“But that night I was scared he might hurt me.”
A source close to Etzebeth, who asked not to be named, said he had been in touch with the player throughout the week and that the HRC probe and media attention had been foremost in Etzebeth’s mind.
“If you go to Christmas lunch with your family and you’ve got a murder charge hanging over your head, even if you’re innocent, you’re still going to be thinking about it,” the source said. “I feel sorry for him. He should be focusing on the World Cup, but he’s been distracted by these claims that are totally unfounded.”
Etzebeth family friend Andrew Baird said the rugby star’s cousin told him he was not involved in the assault.
“I know Etzebeth. His father’s brothers were very rough guys. One of them was shot and killed in Bonteheuwel doing a car repossession. But his father is a very calm and quiet guy,” he said.
“These people are now trying to use his family’s rough reputation to place all the blame on him because they know he has money.”
In a Facebook post on August 25 — Etzebeth’s only response to the allegations — he said: “It is completely untrue and unfounded to claim that I physically or racially abused anyone in Langebaan as has been reported on social media. Multiple witnesses can corroborate that.
“I am and will always strive to be a true ambassador to this beautiful rainbow nation and the sport that I love.” — Additional reporting by Shain Germaner