SOUTH AFRICA SECOND row Eben Etzebeth says the wives and girlfriends of some Springbok players have been subjected to ‘nasty’ messages in the wake of Saturday’s 57 – 0 loss to New Zealand.
The powerful lock seemed prepared to take any criticism on the chin, but spoke out against the ‘terrible people’ who chose to direct their attention to the families of players.
The 25-year-old told Netwerk24.com: ”I can understand people being upset with us. They’re allowed to be, but keep our families out of it.”
“There are some terrible people out there, saying some nasty things to our wives and girlfriends, and that’s not nice to hear.”
The loss to the All Blacks was the worst in Springbok history, but after touching down on home soil Etzebeth still found people who were supportive when meeting him in person.
“There are still a few people that wanted to take pictures with us and that applauded us when we got home. But, yes, there were plenty of people that were extremely negative. We understand that, but we always give our all on the pitch.”
“We were positive (pre-match), but they brought us back down to earth. We didn’t play well and they were incredible.”
Before travelling to Dublin in November, the Springboks can at least take solace from the two home fixtures which will wrap up their Rugby Championship campaign. They will have time to lick their wounds before facing the Wallabies in Bloemfontein on 30 September. A week later they will have to face the world champions again however, when Steve Hansen brings his side to Cape Town on 7 October.
Subscribe to The42 podcasts here:
