South Africa star Eben Etzebeth tells England star 'to keep his mouth shut"
Rugby NewsWednesday, 01 May 2024 at 18:45
Eben Etzebeth expressed irritation regarding Courtney Lawes' remarks concerning the Bulls' strategy in last month's Champions Cup quarterfinal against Northampton Saints.
about his ongoing rivalry with Owen Farrell.
Join the RUCK’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
“My take was it’s a very South African thing to do that whole carnival around it, putting it out in the press about the eight different flights, this and that,” Lawes said at the time.
“I guarantee you that a lot of things there were at least exaggerated, to be honest, and it was a great way of them taking the pressure off themselves and essentially putting it all on us.
“Disrupting us, getting us thinking different things and not quite on the ball and that’s what I was pretty wary of, to be honest.”
Etzebeth has since responded while speaking on The Rugby Pod. He said: “That is Jake’s call. If you are a head coach you must be able to select who you want to,” said Etzebeth.
“In the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup, if you don’t get a home semi, the chances of you winning that competition are very low.
“You are away from home for the quarters and then it’s a semifinal away against Leinster and then you must probably play again in Europe against Toulouse.
“They [Bulls] got a lot of criticism coming their way and it is a bit unfair.
“I saw Courtney Lawes mentioning that it is a ‘South African way’.
“I don’t know why he mentioned the whole of South Africa.
“He surely doesn’t know what is going on in South Africa, so he must rather keep his mouth shut.”
“Different characters” – There is one South Africa player that Owen Farrell absolutely hates
England's fly-half Owen Farrell fearlessly expresses his strong opinions, especially when they concern individuals he's not particularly fond of, reflecting his passionate and outspoken personality.
#1. Dave Attwood
Former England lock Attwood has opened up on the latest RugbyPass Offload
He revealed: "On the pitch, I struggle a lot with Owen Farrell. We just don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things,
“He hates me with a passion. Despite my earthy roots, he thinks I am a posh c***. He hates that. I bagged rugby league once jovially. I was saying it to take the piss kind of thing, ‘a bloody sport for the peasants’. He f**kin’ hated it."
Dave Attwood facts:
- He made 157 appearances in Blue, Black and White over an eight-year period during his first spell at Bath before returning in 2022
- His debut came against Newcastle Falcons at the beginning of the 2011/12 season after arriving from Gloucester, scoring four tries in his first campaign
- The lock quickly established himself as a key player in the Bath pack and excelled at international level too, with 22 of his 24 England caps coming whilst at the Re
- The former England international has also played for Bristol (twice), Gloucester and Toulon during his established career
#2. Ryan Wilson
The Scotland back-rower was the instigator in some tunnel argy-bargy when the players returned to the changing rooms after the warm-up back in 2018 with Farrell at the centre.
Footage of the incident shows all hell breaking loose when Farrell barged his way past a number of Scotland players to confront Wilson, who had been attempting to get inside the head of George Ford.
Wilson later revealed he was banned from Twickenham following the incident.
“I remember that game, I was actually injured and after tunnel-gate, after everything that happened in the tunnel against England, I’d lined up a corporate gig at Twickenham,” he recalled to Rugby Pass in November.
“Had it all lined up, a little bit of cash, all excited, only to get a message back saying the RFU have banned you from Twickenham Stadium after everything that happened the year before.
#3. James Haskell
The pair have what we can only describe as a love-hate relationship. As legendary as the 'best mates' videos were during the 2016 tour of Australia, Farrell certainly didn't seem to be enjoying it.
James Haskell facts:
- Haskell was born in Windsor, Berkshire, and first played for Maidenhead Rugby Club
- He is the son of Jonathan and Susie Haskell. James also has one sibling, a younger brother named Edward
- After retiring from rugby, Haskell signed to mixed martial arts promotion Bellator MMA as part of its Heavyweight division
- His five yellow cards for England is more than any other player in history
- The flanker has a digger driving licence. He's been obsessed with JCBs since he was a young child.
#4. Faf de Klerk
Farrell and De Klerk ended up at arm’s length from each other in 2018 during their summer tour just before the 20-minute mark and the rest of the two sides quickly joined in.
The pair have since clashes on multiple occasions, including during the World Cup final a year later. Klerk is clearly someone who gets under the England skippers skin and their appears to be little love lost between the pair.
Speaking about the pair, Tom Curry said they are 'very different characters'.
TRENDING
LATEST NEWS
LATEST COMMENTS
Loading