Bok lock Etzebeth hopes to bury bad 2017 Irish memories with sweet revenge win on Saturday

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth hopes they can make up for their last Aviva Stadium outing in 2017.
Etzebeth was captain when the Boks were thrashed 38-3, a margin that stands as a record defeat for the Boks.
Etzebeth is one of 10 survivors in the starting lineup from the 2017 game and the only survivor from the 2012 win.

In Dublin

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth said the 2017 defeat against Ireland is a game that still makes an appearance in his mind ever so often and a win in the Test at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday will sweeten their tour deal.

Etzebeth, who has clocked up more than a ton of Test caps, was captain on the day when the Boks were rudely ambushed by Joe Schmidt’s side.

It was the second time that Etzebeth’s leadership that year was pockmarked by a record defeat. Etzebeth was captain when the Boks were annihilated 57-0 by the All Blacks in Albany.

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Etzebeth, who is the sole survivor from the 2012 Dublin win, said their 2018 win against the All Blacks in Wellington washed away the pain of the previous year’s hammering and hoped a win against the Irish will have a similar effect on them.

“The Test that we lost 38-3 will always be at the back of your mind. It’s not something that one forgets easily,” Etzebeth said.

“It’s almost like the 57-0 defeat against the All Blacks and that loss made the win in Wellington all the sweeter for us because of the margin of defeat.

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“We’re getting the same opportunity against Ireland, even though there’s the distance between the games, but we still have the opportunity of putting things right.

“There are guys who didn’t play in the 2017 Test, but we’ll keep within our structures for the game.”

Teams

Ireland

15 Hugo Keenan; 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Mack Hansen; 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Conor Murray; 8 Caelan Doris; 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony; 5 James Ryan, 4 Tadhg Beirne; 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter

Substitutes: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Stuart McCloskey.

Springboks

15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Deon Fourie, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux

The excellence of the Irish side isn’t lost on Etzebeth, even though they also saw off the All Blacks quite convincingly in Mbombela in August.

However, Ireland did twice in two weeks where they beat the All Blacks in Dunedin and Wellington after losing the first Test in Auckland.

Etzebeth said they’ve evolved significantly and that will make them a difficult prospect at a ground where they haven’t lost to the Boks since 2012.

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“They were good against New Zealand and the same is applicable when they beat us in 2017,” Etzebeth said.

“They’ve also tried to evolve in certain areas and put more pieces to the puzzle. They’ve had a great year so far and that series win in New Zealand was unbelievable.

“They made their nation proud.”

Kick-off on Saturday is at 19:30 (SA) time.

Khanyiso Tshwaku is in Dublin following the Springboks on their year-end tour for News24 Sport

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