'The bone actually came through the skin...': Etzebeth on the gruesome injury that gave Springboks fans a recent fright
Eben Etzebeth has revealed details of the sobering broken finger accident that currently has him sidelined at Toulon and left Springboks fans on tenterhooks until they learned the South African talisman will be back in action in plenty of time for the Test series versus the touring British and Irish Lions.
Lock hasn’t been the safest of positions lately for Springboks players, the injury to Etzebeth coming after respective setbacks at Sale and Munster for Lood de Jager and RG Snyman.
The injury prompted initial fears that Etzebeth might be in a race against time to be ready for the July resumption of Test matches that will see the Springboks in action for the first time since they won the World Cup final in November 2019.
However, the 29-year-old has reassured listeners on the latest edition of The Rugby Pod that he will be ready to play again next month for Toulon – although the gruesome description of the injury made show co-hosts Andy Goode and Jim Hamilton wince.
“Almost two weeks ago in training, I broke my finger,” said Etzebeth at the start of his revealing interview. “Quite a weird accident. I will probably be playing three, four weeks again. Like with rugby, any injury is sometimes a blessing so the body gets a bit of a rest. There is still a big year ahead, otherwise all good in France. Missing the family back home with Covid rules otherwise it is good.”
Tick that one off the bucket list @jimhamilton4
Great to have @Springboks legend @EbenEtzebeth on the Pod today to chat Rassie, Lions, weights and enforcers ??
Spotify – https://t.co/D6KNzYJvNY pic.twitter.com/Dwz9SATV5u
— The Rugby Pod (@TheRugbyPod) April 20, 2021
Explaining how the injury happened, he added: “I just came on a line off 9. There wasn’t even contact. The ball and the guy it was almost like shadow. It was shadow rugby and ball and the guy in front came at the same time. I almost tried to catch the ball with one hand and stop the guy in front with the other and somehow my finger got caught. The bone actually came through the skin… so I saw it and I was like oops and I ran to the physio’s room and it got operated on the same day.”
Etzebeth arrived at Toulon in 2019 after winning the World Cup and while he has enjoyed adapting to the French way, he expressed surprise with how well he gets on with the Kiwis in the club’s squad. “It’s been very good since I got here. The French guys all very nice, coaching staff, everyone since I have gotten here is all very good.
“For some reason, I have got on quite well with the New Zealand guys – the biggest rivals on the (Test) field. Last year it was Liam Messam and this season… Ma’a Nonu joined us. We get along really well. It’s just a good group. A good place to be off the field also, the weather is amazing, Toulon is close to Monaco and all those nice places.
“The only thing that is not as great now is Covid but that is the whole world suffering from that. Really enjoying it and we have built a new facility at Toulon, gym, recovery, all those things. Really happy here and I’ve actually got another three seasons left here, I’m here for the long run.”
Just two Englishmen make the cut. https://t.co/vBRP6K4Qmz
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 19, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments