VIDEO: The reason for Etzebeth's omission
WATCH as Springbok assistant coach Duane Vermeulen clarifies the omission of veteran lock Eben Etzebeth ahead of the Boks’ rematch against the All Blacks in Wellington.
Eyebrows were raised by the general rugby public when Etzebeth’s name wasn’t on the team sheet for the Boks’ rematch in Wellington.
Etzebeth, often dubbed the team’s enforcer, has been at the heart of many important Bok victories, and his no-nonsense approach often strikes fear into his opponents.
His teammates, however, will have to do without the towering lock’s services.
Vermuelen explained the reason for Etzebeth’s exclusion from the team and what he would like to see from the players selected in his place.
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“The thing is, you can’t play Eben [Etzebeth] every single game.
“The guy is going to burn out, and you still want him to play for a couple of years.
“We need that little bit of rotation, and we’ve got RG [Snyman] on the bench.
“Those guys have played important and big matches when we were a couple of locks down last year.
“Ruan [Nortje] got an opportunity, and he really did well.”
Vermeulen added: “It looks pretty weird if you have two No.5 locks in your pack, but they play their part.
“They know exactly what they want to do and where they want to go about their game.
“It will be a good challenge for the guys to see if they can make the step-up and also work without Eben.”
