
Rassie Erasmus leaves door open for stunning Eben Etzebeth return
Head coach Rassie Erasmus has revealed that Eben Etzebeth is still a chance of playing against the All Blacks this weekend despite not being named in the teamâs matchday squad for the clash at Johannesburgâs Ellis Park.
Etzebeth was initially left out of South Africaâs team after suffering a knee injury. The Springboks have a policy that if a player canât train on Monday then they wonât be made available for the weekend, but thereâs an exception to every rule.
The 32-year-old from Cape Town has started the last 22 Test matches between the Springboks and All Blacks and that incredible feat could yet extend further by one match if the star lock is able to âmiraculously recover.â
Etzebeth was initially set to miss training on Monday, which is why the Springboks overlooked the two-time Rugby World Cup winner for this weekendâs team, but he ended up training anyway. Itâll all depend on how Etzebeth got through training on Tuesday.
âWe announced the team last night with Eben out because if you donât train on the Monday after the team is announced internally, you donât play on Saturday,â Erasmus told reporters.
âEben did the whole training session on Monday and we need to see how Tuesdayâs one goes, from where Iâll have a chat with all the players to see if weâll make a change.
âHe may miraculously recover, and the doctor said there was some science behind that and not just the will to play for the big occasion like the All Blacks.
âIf thatâs the case, weâll be happy, but it will be very unlucky in terms of Elrigh (Louw), Marco (van Staden) or Kwagga (Smith) in terms of being left out.
âWeâll think clearly, see how Pieter-Steph moves, from where weâll make the call.â
Assistant coach Deon Davids told the media at a press conference on Monday that Etzebeth was under an injury cloud for the Test. Etzebeth joined a worryingly long list of second rowers who had either been ruled out or were in doubt for the highly anticipated clash.
RG Snyman was another lock who had been deemed unavailable. The hulking loc was a last-minute withdrawal from the team to play the Wallabies in Brisbane earlier this month, but after bouncing back to face the same for a week later, Snyman is out once again.
The Boks have been hit by a genuine second-row crisis which is a genuine concern this week. Salmaan Moerat, Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert and Jean Kleyn are among the other second rowers who wonât take the field at the world-famous Ellis Park.
âItâs a meniscus but not a trauma one, but one that came from a scrum,â Erasmus explained about Etzebeth. âIt came about from him changing feet during a scrum session and it wasnât a case of a teammate running into him to a point where thereâs a tear and everything is in pieces.
âIt was a live scrum and Eben took a lot of weight on one side and twisted his knee. Hopefully, the mechanics arenât that bad with big trauma.â