Etzebeth still on Cloud 9 after his great day

“Welcome to the best day of my life.”

That was the reaction of lock Eben Etzebeth (right) after he became the 59th Springbok captain, leading the national rugby team to a 35-12 win over France at Ellis Park on Saturday as they completed a 3-0 series whitewash.

“We have strong leadership in the team and Warren has been great,” Etzebeth said after regular skipper Warren Whiteley pulled out at the 11th hour with a groin strain.

“It was easy to take over, and while there were some finishing problems, the French competed well.

“There is such great harmony in the squad, I wanted to stay on a week later.”

Coach Allister Coetzee revealed they had delayed a final call on Whiteley for as long as possible.

“We managed him through the week but on the Thursday he fell following a lineout,” Coetzee said.

“We sent him for a sonar and a slight tear was detected, so we didn’t want to risk him.”

Etzebeth had been named vice-captain after their recent camp in Plettenberg Bay, and Coetzee felt he was the logical replacement for Whiteley.

“Jaco Kriel and Jean-Luc du Preez trained the entire week in their respective positions, so in the end it wasn’t such a major disruption,” Coetzee said.

“Warren will now go for further assessment in accordance with the medical staff of the Lions to determine how long he will be out for.”

Coetzee lauded the side’s defence, with the Boks scoring four tries while preventing the French from crossing the tryline.

“Test matches are about winning,” Coetzee said.

“It wasn’t pretty and we encountered some execution problems, but it was serious business to turn this thing around.

“Everyone played a part from the logistics manager to the team manager.”

See Pages 3 & 4.