South Africa: Eben Etzebeth Crowned SA Rugby's Best for Second Consecutive Year

14 March 2024
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
analysis By Craig Ray

Double Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth became only the second player to win back-to-back SA Rugby Player of the Year awards.

Player of the Year awards are a reward for a high level of consistency over the course of a season. Eben Etzebeth is certainly deserving of his second SA Player of the Year gong by that measurement.

But his stellar performances in 2023 were just an extension of a career, in which his average performance is usually at a level few players can aspire to. And when Etzebeth really plays well, it's otherworldly.

Etzebeth, now 32, who made his Test debut in 2012, was this year rightly acknowledged on a short list of exceptional candidates for the award - Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Frans Malherbe and Damian Willemse - on the back of a phenomenal year for SA rugby.

The Boks winning Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2023 was the crowning glory, but the Stormers made the United Rugby Championship final too.

For all Etzebeth's brilliance in 2023, nothing summed up his game-deciding influence as much as his monumental performance against France in the quarterfinals of RWC 2023.

The Boks' 29-28 win in the quarterfinal over the hosts at Stade de France in Saint Denis was the match of the tournament. And it was one of the greatest Test...

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