Eben Etzebeth fires shot at Ireland ahead of RWC ‘rematch’

Earlier this year, Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth made some notable revelations during an appearance on The Rugby Pod with Jim Hamilton.

Reflecting on the Springboks’ World Cup journey, Etzebeth recalled several surprising encounters with the Irish players after they beat South Africa in a brutal pool stage match.

Etzebeth stated that most Irish players were already overly confident of progressing all the way to the final and that “12 of the 23” Ireland players told him that they would see them [the Springboks] in the final while shaking his hand after the final whistle.

The lock explained that the Irish players’ attitude came across as them disregarding a major quarter-final battle against the All Blacks, which they eventually lost.

Eben Etzebeth sticks to his guns

In the lead up to what is sure to be a fiery rematch between the Springboks and Ireland at Loftus this weekend, Etzebeth refused to take a backward step, despite some critics suggesting he must have misunderstood what was said.

“I said what I said. It was after the game and a lot of them said how could I count to that exact number of players,” Etzebeth insisted during a press conference this week.

“To give an estimate, it was definitely not less than six or seven players, but not more than 20 of them. I just gave an estimate, but I said what I said because we’ll never, after a game, tell them we’ll see them in the final.

“There was a lot of rugby that still needed to be played, and maybe that was their way to say we’re a good side, and we may make it all the way to the final.”

ANDY GOODE INSERTS HIMSELF INTO THE EQUATION

During a subsequent episode of the Rugby Pod, ex-England flyhalf Goode was asked for his thoughts on Etzebeth’s comments, and he was one of those who suggested Etzebeth had got it wrong.

“Was he surprised by what he thought he heard? I’m going to call him out,” Goode said. “I call bulls***. You ain’t counting to 12 or 13 straight after a game, son!

“I reckon if anyone said it they would have said, ‘Hopefully, see you in the final’. Meaning we know we are both going our separate paths now,” Goode continued his verbal tirade against Etzebeth.

“And there is no way Eben can count to 12 shaking people’s hands. You’ve been in that situation where you are absolutely blitzed. No one knows what is going on.

“You have just lost a game. Your emotions are everywhere. You ain’t going, ‘One, two, three, four, five, Caelan Doris, that’s the sixth person to say it’. It’s not happening, is it?” he continued to question Etzebeth’s honesty.

“What I think they probably said is, ‘Hopefully, see you in the final’ or whatever because the Irish are good people. There’s not a f****** chance that they have gone there, and it’s been interpreted the way it has or the way it is in Eben’s head.”