Ken Borland

How does it feel now that you have become the most-capped Springbok ever?

EE: It’s difficult to put in words how I feel. Thank you to everyone for your kind words. Guys like Victor Matfield were one of a lot of heroes I had growing up.

This team is a bunch of unbelievable guys, we have the best supporters in the world and I could not ask for a better family that supports me.

That’s why I play rugby, to play for this team, it is so special. We just want to do the country proud because rugby is like a religion in South Africa. To play for the Springboks is the best feeling and hopefully I can stay fit and the coaches keep selecting me.

What has driven you to achieve 128 caps?

EE: I could not have done it without the team, guys who I’ve been to three World Cups with, guys like Siya Kolisi, Jesse Kriel, Handre Pollard, Frans Malherbe, Willie le Roux, Damian de Allende. They’ve been with me from day one and I would not have reached this milestone if they weren’t there. To do it together with this team, we are best pals, makes it even more special. It’s also not nice if you lose on a day like this. This was a final for us and the guys made it special for me. We will celebrate very nicely, you must win in this industry to be able to enjoy your beer.

There was obviously a lot of attention on you in the last week, how did you avoid becoming distracted with the Rugby Championship title on the line?

EE: Because of social media, it’s difficult not to see stuff, sometimes hard to get it out of your head. But we are all professional and we’ve managed to get through World Cup finals before. You just have to make sure you prepare well, because that’s something you can fall back on. At the end of the day, you must just make sure you perform.

What are your future plans, how much further do you think you can extend your record?

EE: I’m staying put for now. I will push my body as far as it can go. The ultimate is playing rugby for this team, so I will keep on pushing, training hard and trying to perform for my club [the Sharks]. Hopefully the coaches will keep selecting me. But other than that I prefer to keep my goals close to my heart.

You seldom show your emotions, but today must have been very special and emotional for you?

EE: I was thinking of my Pa [late father] pouring brandies up there with the angels. It was also a very special day for my wife and baby girl. Siya and I have come a long way and he spoke so nicely about me, he is an unbelievable person. As a small boy, you just want to play for the Springboks, and to now have the most caps feels unreal, it is unbelievable.

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Siya Kolisi on Eben Etzebeth – It’s a special moment for Eben  and I’m so grateful to be part of it. He has taught me on and off the field ever since I met him when I was 18. I had a sleepover at his house and we have been mates ever since, even when he left to play overseas.

I’ve been so excited for him and I know he didn’t want it to be about him, but the biggest way we could have shown how special he is to us is by playing well. It was our responsibility as a team.

A lot of people see the brutal force he brings, and that is an awesome role he plays, but his leadership is also very important and people don’t understand that he is so smart, he has a great rugby brain and he comes up with awesome plans.

But he is so much more than just a player, one of the most consistent players day in, day out. It’s the way he cares about this team and the team’s values, he has kept those intact, he makes sure everyone stays in line.

So today was special for all of us. To Eben, you are an yster [iron man] and I’m so grateful to have been able to walk this journey with you and I’m so grateful for your support, from when Rassie Erasmus first made me captain, you have had my back. He leads the team, he is so smart and I am so proud of you. I can’t wait to tell my grandkids that I played with Eben Etzebeth. I love you, my brother.

Victor Matfield on Eben Etzebeth – I was very fortunate to also become the most capped Springbok in Nelspruit, taking over from another legend in John Smit. And now another legend has overtaken me. What Eben does on the field is incredible, but he does even more off the field and is a great ambassador for South Africa. I was there with him when he was 19 years old.

Siya Kolisi said he can’t wait to tell his grandchildren that he played with Eben Etzebeth, while the giant lock himself said he would not have reached his landmark of becoming the most-capped Springbok rugby player ever if he had not been playing alongside his captain and other South African veterans who have won the last two World Cups.

Etzebeth won his 128^th Test cap on Saturday as the Springboks hammered Argentina 48-7 to claim the Rugby Championship title in Mbombela. He surpassed the previous record of 127 caps held by Victor Matfield, between 2001 and 2015.

“To Eben, you are an yster [iron man] and I’m so grateful to have been able to walk this journey with you and I’m so grateful for your support, from when Rassie first made me captain, you have had my back. He leads the team, he is so smart and I am so proud of you. I can’t wait to tell my grandkids that I played with Eben Ysterbeth. I love you, my brother,” Kolisi said in an emotional post-match interview on TV.

Etzebeth responded in the post-match press conference, saying: “Siya and I have come a long way and he spoke so nicely about me, he is an unbelievable person. As a small boy, you just want to play for the Springboks, and to now have the most caps feels unreal, it is unbelievable.

“To do it together with this team, we are best pals, makes it even more special. I could not have done it without the team, guys who I’ve been to three World Cups with. They’ve been with me from day one and I would not have reached this milestone if they weren’t there.

“It’s also not nice if you lose on a day like this. This was a final for us and the guys made it special for me. We will celebrate very nicely, you must win in this industry to be able to enjoy your beer,” Etzebeth said.

The 32-year-old Etzebeth will now have an eye on the all-time Test record of 171 caps set by fellow lock Alun-Wyn Jones of Wales and the British and Irish Lions.

“I’m staying put for now. I will push my body as far as it can go. The ultimate is playing rugby for this team, so I will keep on pushing, training hard and trying to perform for my club [the Sharks]. Hopefully the coaches will keep selecting me,” Etzebeth said.

Matfield praised Etzebeth for being an ambassador for South Africa as a whole.

“I was very fortunate to also become the most capped Springbok in Nelspruit, taking over from another legend in John Smit. And now another legend has overtaken me, I was there with him when he was 19 years old. What Eben does on the field is incredible, but he does even more off the field and is a great ambassador for South Africa,” Matfield said.

Springbok great Victor Matfield knows better than most that Jake White is a coach who demands a lot from his players, but South Africa’s most-capped player says the fruits of his approach can be seen in the Bulls’ triumph in lifting the Super Rugby Unlocked trophy at the weekend.

Matfield ended with a record 127 Test caps to his name, but it was during White’s tenure as coach from 2004 to 2007 that the Polokwane-born player became a kingpin for the Springboks and the best lineout forward in the world, culminating in him being the player of the final in the 2007 World Cup win.

“Jake White has never been happy with average and you can see that he is demanding a lot from the Bulls players, but it’s getting the best from them, the standards are lifting at Loftus. A lot of us former players thought that the Bulls needed change and then Jake came in and brought quite a bit of change. It’s a pity that there was no real Super Rugby this year because that’s the real test, but they did very well,” Matfield told The Citizen.

While brute physical strength once again seems hip in South African rugby and the Bulls’ pack was certainly the most physical in the competition, Matfield said the team’s success went well beyond simple forward-based rugby. When the ball did get to the backs, it pinged around in impressively incisive fashion.

“When the Bulls were physically up for it, like in the games against the Sharks and Stormers, then they were just ruthless. They had a very strong tight five and their loose forwards were great at the breakdown – in fact nobody in South Africa could compete with them at the breakdown. And then they had a No.9 [Ivan van Zyl] and No.10 [Morne Steyn] who controlled the game very well.

“I must admit before the season I was worried about their centre combination and I was very surprised by Cornal Hendricks at inside centre, he was outstanding, especially against the Stormers. David Kriel also did really well at fullback and the wings played well too,” Matfield said.

Victor Matfield, South Africa’s most-capped international ever with 127 appearances, has supported SA Rugby’s decision to withdraw the Springboks from the Rugby Championship, explaining why it would amount to gross negligence to throw the players into battle in Australia with so little game-time under their belts.

The maximum amount of game-time any locally-based Springbok has enjoyed for the last six months is 240 minutes, way off the 400-500 minutes the medical specialists have said is safe before playing Test rugby. And the lack of match fitness is exacerbated by the fact that the players are coming off a six-month hard Lockdown, which for much of the time meant being restricted to being at home.

“It’s a difficult one because we all would have loved to see the defending champions take part, but it’s all about player welfare and there are so many unanswered questions about that and what will happen when they get to Australia. Plus it’s not as if they’re just going over there for one game. Our guys have never been in the situation before where they’re out of action for six months.

“It’s normal for players to get injured and maybe miss a few games, and even at the end of the season you probably only have one month out and then you go into pre-season. But six months without playing rugby is massive, especially when a team like New Zealand has been playing for practically the whole time. It would be really unfair on our players to throw them into that,” Matfield told Saturday Citizen on Friday.

While there has been speculation over whether SA Rugby will be able to organise some Test action for the Springboks before the British and Irish Lions arrive in June 2021, Matfield said playing in Europe and having plenty of time for training camps will let new national coach Jacques Nienaber prepare the team properly.

“It’s going to be interesting to see if they do organise some warm-up Tests, but if our local players are all involved in a proper Pro16 then they should be ready. The Springbok team for the Lions tour will be mostly made up of the World Cup squad – probably 80% of that. So they all know how they want to play and what Jacques wants them to do.

“I’m sure Jacques will also hold a few warm-up camps, so I’m sure the Springboks will be ready. They’ll have lots of rugby under their belts and they understand what the coach wants,” Matfield said.