Durban - If a few more stars can align in the Sharks’ galaxy, global superstar Eben Etzebeth will be the latest headline act to join the Durban franchise.
Etzebeth has been granted an early release by Toulon and Sharks CEO Ed Coetzee has confirmed that negotiations are underway with the 30-year-old bruiser.
Etzebeth, who has been capped 97 times for the Springboks, would be a healthy tonic for the Sharks who have been short of a genuine enforcer in their pack for some time.
The Sharks’ pack has been rebuilding nicely in the United Rugby Championship and has rectified their scrumming under Georgian scrum coach Akvsenti Giorgadze, and the addition of the brutal Etzebeth in the second row would take the pack to another level.
They already boast a Springbok front row of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, and Thomas du Toit and have Springbok captain Siya Kolisi on the flank.
[𝐎![CDATA[]]>𝐅![CDATA[]]>𝐅![CDATA[]]>𝐈![CDATA[]]>𝐂![CDATA[]]>𝐈![CDATA[]]>𝐄![CDATA[]]>𝐋]
— RCT - RC Toulon (@RCTofficiel) February 13, 2022
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Le communiqué 👉https://t.co/XFqYTg8LCD pic.twitter.com/84M3WPEDi9
Coetzee said that the Sharks would love to secure Etzebeth and it could be a reality if they can agree on financial terms.
“We are looking at lock," Coetzee said. "We would love to get him, but he is on a big contract so he’ll have to get out of his contract and be prepared to take a substantial salary cut,” Coetzee told media on Friday.
“I think Eben might get out. We are discussing this with his representatives and we are trying to push this to an end.”
Toulon has in fact now released Etzebeth — they released a statement on Sunday — so that is one step closer to reunification for him with his good friends Kolisi and Mbonambi, his Stormers and Springbok teammates for so long.
While Etzebeth has been a popular player at the French giants, Toulon president Bernard Lemaître has complained that Etzebeth is a “handicap” because he is “expensive, is regularly injured and is often away on Test duty”.
Etzebeth has only just resumed playing after a three-month stand-down period because of a third concussion suffered during the Boks’ loss to England last November.
The Toulon statement read: “Eben Etzebeth has expressed his desire to put an early end to the contract binding him to Toulonnais in order to return, for personal reasons, to South Africa. Aware of the difficulties encountered by the player, the club took note of this request and accepted it.”
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