'Booze, win or lose': Eben Etzebeth details the weak culture within the Boks of old

Springboks centurion Eben Etzebeth has opened up the weak culture within the Boks that ended up being exposed by the All Blacks in the early days of his international career.

The 57-0 loss in 2017 is infamous, but the year before the Springboks were handed two heavy defeats by the All Blacks, 41-13 in Christchurch and a historic 57-15 defeat in Durban as they struggled in the first year of Alister Coetzee’s tenure.

Etzebeth has detailed his views on the 2016 home defeat in his new book Unlocked, taking aim at a weak culture within the camp that lacked real leadership.

All Black coach Scott Robertson and his captain Scott Barrett give their views on the ‘greatest rivalry’ tour of 2026

All Black coach Scott Robertson and his captain Scott Barrett give their views on the ‘greatest rivalry’ tour of 2026

He said that young players were allowed to get away with poor behaviour, including going out to party in Durban during the week of the All Blacks Test.

“The discipline in the group wasn’t very good and some guys on the fringes of the starting line-up decided that it was a good idea to go out and party just a few days before our match against the All Blacks in Durban,” Etzebeth wrote in Unlocked.

“South African journalists found out, and it created a bad feeling in the group. There was a feeling that we lacked an effective leadership group of experienced players who were not scared to tell the younger guys that this is not how real Springboks behave.”

The crowd in Durban were left shellshocked as the All Blacks ran up the score by a then-record margin, which is still the All Blacks’ biggest away winning margin against South Africa.

Etzebeth said the silence came with a sense of hopelessness which should have been felt by all within the squad.

“I don’t remember any booing that day, but the silence was actually worse,” he added.

“When fans boo, it shows that they care, but that silence means they have no hope for you anymore.

“A few guys who went out and drank before the game went out again afterwards and came back drunk.

“How a player handles defeat tells me a lot about them, and I’m always frustrated with my teammates who aren’t hurting or are as angry as I am.

“I’ve never understood the philosophy of ‘on the booze, win or lose’.”

The pain under Coetzee would continue on the end of year tour with a historic first-ever loss to Italy, while in 2017 there was again mixed results and suffering at the hands of the All Blacks.