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« Ferme-la » : le conseil d’Etzebeth à Lawes
Il n’y a pas que sur le terrain que les affrontements entre Courtney Lawes et Eben Etzebeth font des étincelles. Par voie de presse, les deux colosses se défendent aussi plutôt bien, comme vient de le montrer le dernier épisode en date.
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Trois semaines plus tôt, Northampton se qualifiait pour les demi-finales de la Champions Cup en écartant sans difficulté les Bulls (59-22).
La démonstration anglaise (9 essais, 33 défenseurs battus, 12 franchissements…) fait un peu jaser, d’autant que Jake White, le boss des Bulls, a délibérément laissé 11 Springboks à la maison. Officiellement, parce que les multiples voyages entre l’Afrique du Sud et l’Europe finissent par être harassants pour ses joueurs.
Titulaire lors de ce fameux match sur le flanc de la 3e ligne et d’ailleurs auteur du 2e essai des siens, Courtney Lawes ne se prive pas de dire tout haut ce que beaucoup d’observateurs pensent tout bas.
« Mon avis, c’est que c’est une attitude très sud-africaine de faire tout un cirque autour de ça, de faire sortir dans la presse qu’ils doivent prendre huit vols différents, patati patata », a déclaré le futur joueur de Brive dans l’émission The Rugby Pod.
Avant d’ajouter :« Mais je vous garantis que beaucoup de choses ont été au moins exagérées, et c’était une excellente façon pour eux de se décharger de la pression et de nous la mettre sur le dos ».
Des déclarations qui n’ont pas tardé à provoquer la réponse d’Eben Etzebeth. Invité lui aussi de The Rugby Pod, le joueur des Sharks a pris la défense de ses compatriotes.
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« “Les Bulls ont été très critiqués, à tort je pense. J’ai vu des joueurs comme Courtney Lawes parler de ‘l’attitude sud-africaine’. Je ne sais pas pourquoi il fait référence à l’Afrique du Sud dans son ensemble », s’est interrogé l’ancien Toulonnais.
« Il n’a sûrement aucune idée de ce qui se passe en Afrique du Sud, donc il devrait plutôt la fermer. »
« C’est Jake [White] qui prend les décisions. Quand vous êtes entraîneur en chef, vous devez pouvoir sélectionner qui vous voulez. En Champions Cup et en Challenge Cup, si vous ne jouez votre demi-finale à domicile, vous avez peu de chances de gagner la compétition », a poursuivi le double champion du monde, qui avait déjà remis les Irlandais à leur place dans ce même podcast.
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« Ils devaient se déplacer en quarts de finale, puis probablement aller au Leinster pour la demie, et ensuite retourner en Europe pour disputer la finale peut-être contre Toulouse. Donc ce sera toujours difficile ».
Pour rappel, les demi-finales de la Champions Cup se disputent sans aucune équipe sud-africaine. Samedi à 18h30, le Leinster reçoit les Northampton Saints de Courtney Lawes, tandis que le Stade Toulousain reçoit les Harlequins le dimanche à 16h.
En Challenge Cup, les Sharks d’Eben Etzebeth défie l’ASM Clermont au Twickenham Stoop (samedi 13h30), puis Gloucester affronte le Benetton Rugby (samedi 16h).
La Coupe du Monde de Rugby Féminin 2025 arrive en Angleterre. Inscrivez-vous ici pour être le premier à recevoir des informations sur la billetterie.
Comments on RugbyPass
One tough SOB!
15 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
1 Go to commentsSurely there’s a ‘no knobheads’ policy ?
2 Go to commentsWallaroos have no chance of beating the Black Ferns unless Canada upsets them in Christchurch tomorrow but I doubt that as well!
1 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Could the victim do a course to reverse the long term CTE damage from the cheapshot?
2 Go to commentsTruely great player. In social media and opinion pieces he was held up and flogged for the results. People wanted someone to crucify, and he was the captain. He was still an immense presence respected by his peers. His battles with Siya Kolisi belong up with with Collins vs Burger in my opinion. Unlucky to be carded in the final, but I don’t agree that his red card was the defining moment. Not when you look at the dominant performances of the Springboks (PSDT in particular.) I think Cane should be remembered for the spirit and physicality that is special to test rugby.
15 Go to commentsSam was the man until he got injured .
15 Go to comments_Crusaders versus Leinster _at the moment might be a rout! But I would like to see the Blues play Toulouse, the Hurricanes front up against Stade Francais, and the Chiefs go against Toulon.
157 Go to commentsLove it when we overlap! Promise it was not forethought.
18 Go to commentsjfc can this guy plz stay out of the news for one week
2 Go to commentsIf stormers aren’t available. Based on form and likely availability at the time of the wales Test, you’d think Masuku would be a no-brainer to start. But starting Jordan also makes sense having Masuku come off the bench to close out the game.
2 Go to commentsGlad Tom Curry not playing needs time to recover such a great player also his brother Ben how well is he playing now .
1 Go to commentsLet’s examine what might be irking the brainless E: Up until 20 years before this coming Julys tests: 16 games: 14 wins for SA; 1 win for Ire; 1 draw From 20 years until July’ tests Ireland V SA: 13 matches Ireland won 8; SA won 4; 1 draw Points scored Ireland 261; SA 189 Ave Winning Margin: Ireland 11 points; SA 4 points (away 3, home 6) Away win record: Ireland 33.33%; SA 25% Neutral matches 1: Ireland win RWC France 2023. Last SA win June 2016 (8 years ago) They boast 3 World cups in that period (they do boast). The above record is not good, probably not much better than theirs against NZ for same period. That’s why the dopey E is starting fights in his head. He will probably ship a yellow when things don’t go their way in the first test.
127 Go to commentsGoode is like a wet fart on The Rugby Pod and should be shoved aside. Jim knows what he is on about and can get on better without Goode’s nasty little cheap shots.
127 Go to commentsBrumbies will win, crusaders are pretty awful this year
1 Go to commentsThis has the makings of a good match. That’s Leinster’s second team but its a good one (stronger than the teams in SA recently). Ulster are really turning a page. Ryan back is huge, and Keenan too. This could be a cracker.
1 Go to commentsThe Farrells are one of the great father and son combinations. Andy was an RL great, and had he played Union as his first sport, I would be sure he would have been avery significant forcewas in League. And Owen, a Union great, who had he played League, would could have been a great there too i all probability. I feel my attitude to Owen has mellowed as he has aged, and in the post Jones era, evolved and shown his full range of talents. He really is an all round player, and I have wold hope his move to France will be successful. He may even be the piece in the jigsaw that Racing need to rise to challenge Toulouse and LAR. He is ofc now approaching 33 years of age but should still have enough left to make a big contribution in France for at least2/3 years.
45 Go to commentsI reckon it may be Jordan at 10 and Nohamba at 9, both players have played together alot and both have been on the Radar for a long time. After Pollard got injured in 2022 with Elton sidelined on a path of self destruction Erasmus and Nienaber indicated that the other options in the country at the time were thin but that Jordan and Manie were the 2 they were looking at. In the end Frans steyn played flyhalf, Willemse slotted in there on the end of year with Libbok as back up. Jordan was right there in the thinking back then so expect him to take the Jersey either as the starter.
2 Go to commentsHaha did he also* say it in a sarcastic teacher sort of manor or was it the petulant English snob sort of wail?
45 Go to commentsWell said Mils. It is a big boost at last having Fergus Burke back at 10 for the Crusaders. Had a great season last year as the article says. Mils is also right about captain Codie Taylor’s performance in his return to the Crusaders last week. He was all class.
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