Eben Etzebeth issues statement following assault accusations

Eben Etzebeth has issued a statement following an accusation that he assaulted a man in the Langebaan area of Cape Town.

The Springbok and Stormers lock has been accused of racially abusing and attacking a man.

On Sunday a video and accusations made the rounds via social media, alleging Etzebeth assaulted and pointed a gun at a homeless man in Langebaan.

He is alleged to have used the racial slur 'hotnots' which is a derivative of the term 'Hottentot', an archaic term.

However, Etzebeth took to Facebook to refute the claims and deny any wrongdoing. The Bok labelled the incident as ‘untrue’ and echoed his love for ‘rainbow nation’.

The statement reads:

"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."

It's been a rocky few days for the Springboks, with star winger Aphiwe Dyantyi testing positive for a banned substance.

In a media statement issued on Saturday via his agent Gert van der Merwe, the soon-to-be 25-year-old denied any wrongdoing.

“I want to deny ever taking any prohibited substance, intentionally or negligently, to enhance my performance on the field. I believe in hard work and fair play. I have never cheated and never will,” he wrote.

“The presence of this prohibited substance in my body has come as a massive shock to me and together with my management team and experts appointed by them, we are doing everything we can to get to the source of this and to prove my innocence.

“As a professional sportsman on national and international level we get tested on a regular basis. I have been tested before and again since this test. It is part of the job and we all know that each and every player is bound to get tested at least two to four times a year.