Springboks and Hollywoodbets Sharks lock Eben Etzebeth reflected on what proved to be an excellent 2024 season for both the national team as well as his Durban-based club. The now-legendary enforcer was, de facto, vacuum cleaner that hoovered up the Qatar Airways Cup, Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate, the Freedom Cup, the Rugby Championship and the Prince William Cup in the colours of the green-and-gold. For the Sharks, he claimed himself a winners’ medal in the EPCR Challenge Cup, before following it up with the South African Shield of the United Rugby Championship recently.
Etzebeth was part of a truly historic year with the Boks amid the fact he became the most capped player in the team’s storied history. The team finished the year as the top team on the world rankings with a rewarding 11 victories in 13 Tests, for an admirable win record of 84.6% under the guidance of coach Rassie Erasmus. Their two defeats, against Ireland and Argentina, were by only a single point.
Adding to this, they scored the third highest number of tries in the season since 1992 in the process (57) – the most being in 2007 when they scored 81 tries, while they scored 74 five-pointers in 1997 when Erasmus donned the green and gold jersey himself, while the good doctor used an extraordinary 50 players in the process.
His contributions to this unprecedented success saw Etzebeth being nominated for the SA Rugby Men’s Player of the Year award alongside Bok teammates Cheslin Kolbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian De Allende and Retshegofaditswe ‘Ox’ Nché at the SA Rugbt Awards 2024. Kolbe won this gong at the awards ceremony that was hosted in Cape Town.
