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Eben Etzebeth: 'I would love the Springboks to join the Six Nations'

Eben Etzebeth of Toulon arrives at the stadium prior to the ECPR Challenge Cup Quarter Final match between RC Toulon and London Irish at Stade Mayol on May 08, 2022 in Toulon, France. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Eben Etzebeth has admitted that South Africa joining the Six Nations makes ‘perfect sense’ and is something he would be fully in support of.

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The revelations came when the Toulon lock spoke to Jim Hamilton in the latest instalment of Rugby Roots, and are indicative of a growing appetite in some corners of the rugby world for a reshuffle of one of the most prestigious calendar tournaments.

Six Nations organisers released a statement in February, squashing any speculation of the Springboks being inducted into the tournament. This came days after SA Rugby committed to the Rugby Championship until at least 2025, but none of this stopped Etzebeth from entertaining the prospect.

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Eben Etzebeth | Rugby Roots

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Eben Etzebeth | Rugby Roots

“I think the Six Nations would be good for us,” he said. “Obviously, it just makes sense with us playing in the URC at the moment against the same competition.”

At the start of this season the Sharks, Stormers, Bulls and Lions were all inducted into the URC and at the end of this season, Etzebeth himself will be joining Sharks.

The link between South Africa and European rugby will grow even further when the private equity firm CVC, which has already invested in the URC, buys a stake in SA Rugby.

There has been plenty of speculation about how this could change the shape of international rugby and Etzebeth weighed in with an idea of his own.

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“Maybe we could have a full June series against New Zealand, play in the Six Nations and then have an end of year tour in Australia or Argentina. I would love to join the Six Nations, but I would also love to still play those other teams as well. Maybe they [World Rugby] can get a good balance.

“At the end of the day, for me it’s just about playing for South Africa.”

It’s been a challenging few years for South African rugby. There were no international fixtures played in 2020 and in 2021 the national team had to take to the field in front of predominantly empty seats.

A return to full capacity stadiums has still not arrived, but Etzebeth thinks the upcoming summer series against Wales could help revive fan engagement and be a sign of new rivalries to come in the future.

“The fans are desperate to see us. They haven’t seen us play live since we lifted the World Cup. I think the tickets for the Wales tests have already sold out.”

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Comments

2 Comments
k
karin 909 days ago

Eben Elizabeth should just shut his fat ugly mouth no one cares idiot

i
isaac 910 days ago

Can we move on from this please...the boks should play in the 6 N, rugby championships, Pacific nations cup, rainbow Cup Suda America cup and every competition....newsflaah..they dont want you. They prefer Italy

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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