Eben Etzebeth

One of the biggest names in rugby union, Eben Etzebeth is well-known for his abilities as a player, his impressive skill and his towering 6ft 7in stature. His favoured position for club and country is as a number four lock, but he can provide cover as a flanker.

Eben Etzebeth was born in Cape Town, South Africa in October 1991 and from an early age he excelled in the sport and was earmarked as a hot prospect for the future when playing as a youth for his school team.

He entered the Western Province youth setup in 2009 and also played with amateur side UCT Ikey Tigers in 2011, going on to then play at a senior level with Western Province and the Stormers. He also had a season in 2015 in the Japanese Top League with NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes. Etzebeth most recently signed for French Top 14 side Toulon following the 2019 Rugby World Cup, where he still plays his club rugby today.

Across his club career Eben Etzebeth earned a fierce reputation as a hard-hitting enforcer, this is something that has translated onto the international stage and has been acknowledged by players and pundits alike, ever since his first senior call up for the Springboks in 2012. He played in the 2015 Rugby World Cup with the side eventually finishing in third place. Less than a year later at the 2016 Rugby Championship, he earned his 50th cap for South Africa aged 24, becoming the youngest ever player to achieve this milestone.

In the 2017 Championship Etzebeth was named as the new captain of the Springboks. Although he missed out a large portion of the 2018 international season due to injury, he still made the squad for the 2019 World Cup. He played a number of games in this tournament and started in the final, helping South Africa to a famous win over England.

Outside of the sport Eben Etzebeth is also famed for his strength and physique. He claims to be able to bench press over 135kg and even perform incline dumbbell chest presses with 60kg weights.