Eben: It’s in our hands
ETZEBETH: CALLS DIDN’T GO OUR WAY, BUT IT’S UP TO US TO CORRECT THINGS
Rudolph Jacobs
Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth might have played 70 Test matches, but there is one flaw in his impressive CV: he’s had only one Bok win over the All Blacks in six years.
Since Etzebeth made his international debut back in 2012, the Kiwis have won 11 of their 12 Tests against the Boks, with the only exception being South Africa’s lastgasp 27-25 victory at Ellis Park in 2014.
In Wellington today, with the Boks getting another chance to end the streak, Etzebeth said this week he felt they had to address a few issues which went wrong in Mendoza and Brisbane to give themselves a fighting chance.
“Definitely a few calls didn’t go our way, but it’s up to us to correct things and then hopefully have a good game this weekend,” he said.
Etzebeth was his chirpy self when asked what needed to be done to resurrect their Rugby Championship campaign after their last two defeats.
“I suppose we must get more points than them,” he joked.
“But no, seriously, it’s about working on the areas we didn’t do well recently and converting those half-chances.”
The lock said they hadn’t prepared differently this week for the All Blacks, despite being given no chance of success.
“Every game is a new challenge and we always analyse the team we play against as each team has its own strengths – looking at New Zealand and seeing how we can expose that.”
In tandem with lineout caller Franco Mostert, Etzebeth believed they could use the set-piece to possibly disrupt one of the All Blacks’ main sources of possession.
“They have good jumpers, good individuals and they work hard as a collective,” he said.
“But we don’t really focus on the mental aspect of facing the All Blacks. We take everybody seriously, while obviously being aware of the big challenge that comes along with their status in world rugby.”