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Etzebeth may play as Boks bend their own protocol

rugby27 August 2024 12:30| © SuperSport
By:Brenden Nel
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Eben Etzebeth © Gallo Images

Eben Etzebeth may have many nicknames in rugby, but on Tuesday ahead of the All-Blacks test in Johannesburg, he may have added “Lazarus” to those.

After not being named in the Bok team to face New Zealand on Saturday because of a twisted knee, Etzebeth may well resurrect his chances to face the old enemy if he gets through the training session on Tuesday.

The fact that the Boks are willing to bend their own policy of not selecting a player who didn’t train on a Monday underlines the importance of Etzebeth to the side.

But as with all things of this nature, it isn’t as much black and white as a shade of grey, as coach Rassie Erasmus explained.

Erasmus said that Etzebeth was initially chosen for the fixture, but then told the team management he couldn’t train on Monday, prompting them to leave him out, but then turned around and felt no discomfort from the injury that kept him from training on Monday.

So now, if Etzebeth gets through Tuesday’s training session, he is likely to take his place and the Boks will, for the first time under Erasmus, make a change after naming the squad that hasn’t been enforced by injury.

Those with longer memories will remember the team’s Chasing the Sun video where Cheslin Kolbe was fit but couldn’t train on the Monday ahead of the World Cup semifinal and Erasmus chose not to play him because of team protocol.

If Etzebeth is parachuted back into the side, then it would be likely that Elrigh Louw would fall out of favour, while Marco van Staden and Kwagga Smith would stay.

Ben-Jason Dixon is likely to drop to the bench while Pieter-Steph du Toit will move back to his preferred seven flank position.

'NOT A NORMAL INJURY'

"We announced the team last night with Eben out because if you don't train on the Monday after the team is announced internally, you don't play on Saturday," Erasmus said.

"Eben did the whole training session on Monday and we need to see how Tuesday's one goes, from where I'll have a chat with all the players to see if we'll make a change.

"He may miraculously recover, and the doctor said there was some science behind that and not just the will to play for the big occasion like the All Blacks.

"If that's the case, we'll be happy, but it will be very unlucky for Elrigh, Marco or Kwagga in terms of being left out.

"We'll think clearly, see how Pieter-Steph moves, and make the call from there."

Erasmus explained that the injury wasn’t your normal run of the mill injury and that it was understandable that Etzebeth could recover.

"It's a meniscus, but not a trauma one, but one that came from a scrum," Erasmus said.

"It came about from him changing feet during a scrum session and it wasn't a case of a teammate running into him to a point where there's a tear and everything is in pieces.

"It was a live scrum and Eben took a lot of weight on one side and twisted his knee. Hopefully, the mechanics aren't that bad with big trauma."

RISKY TO CHANGE PROTOCOL

Still, the dangers of changing team protocol because a player is so important to the team are well known and are well documented across the sport’s history.

Add to that the factor that Pieter-Steph du Toit hasn’t played four lock for quite some time, and it is understandable that the Boks are considering this.

The Boks will always be stronger with Etzebeth, who has now played 22 consecutive tests for them, in the starting line-up.

But changing protocol remains a risk, especially in such an important week.

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