South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth during the training session at Twickenham Stadium, London.
Watch: Eben Etzebeth gets All Blacks to sing South African anthem at party
Eben Etzebeth showed off his more relaxed side in footage of a NYE party hosted by All Black Liam Messam in Toulon, France.
South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth during the training session at Twickenham Stadium, London.
Eben Etzebeth appears to be settling into life at Toulon very well with the help of his new teammates, former All Blacks Julian Savea and Liam Messam.
In an interview with a French rugby newspaper Etzebeth revealed that Messam had invited him for dinner soon after he arrived in France and now footage has emerged of the giant Bok lock enjoying New Year’s Eve revelry with his two new friends.
The video shows a rich cultural exchange, and we have to assume that Etzebeth played a big part in selecting the playlist with Afrikaans rapper Biggy’s Dames clearly audible in one of the clips from Messam’s Instagram story.
Etzebeth at one point in the night led the cosmopolitan group of party attendees in the South African national anthem. Messam made up for his flawed pronunciation during Nkosi Sikelele Afrika with volume.
The pair of All Blacks then decided to lay down a challenge to the Bok with a haka that Etzebeth found it difficult to take seriously.
Watch Etzebeth party with All Blacks Messam and Savea
Etzebeth joined Toulon on a three-year deal after the Rugby World Cup but under new SA Rugby criteria he remains eligible to be selected for the Springboks pending fitness and availability.
The towering second-row has made a big splash in Top 14 Rugby scoring a terrific try on his league debut for the club with strong ties to the Springboks.
Etzebeth is one of four South Africans in the current Toulon squad joining fellow Springboks Wilco Louw, Marcel van der Merwe and Louis Schreuder in the French holiday hotspot.
The list of Springboks to turn out in the colours of Rugby Club Toulonnais is a long and distinguished one including legends of the South African game Bryan Habana, Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield.
Etzebeth is eager to forge his own path at the club rejecting comparisons to Bok enforcer Botha. He insists he wants to play his own game. In one area he would like to emulate some of the Springboks that went before him though, and that is winning trophies with the club.
Toulon are in action this weekend, taking on Castres in a Top 14 clash at the Stade Mayol on Sunday. The club are currently third in the league standings after twelve rounds of matches.
