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Cape Town - Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth is eager to overpower the Wallabies at Loftus Versfeld when he returns after a suspension.
The 20-year-old missed the last Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks in Dunedin after being suspended for head-butting Wallaby skipper Nathan Sharpe in Perth on September 8. That was his sixth Test in a row since he made his debut against England in June.
The Stormers enforcer told Beeld of his frustration at watching his fellow team-mates from a distance on television. "It was hard watching the guys go onto the field knowing I'm not there to help," he said. "It wasn't nice but they (SANZAR) made their decision and unfortunately I couldn't play. You just try to put it behind you and learn from it to hopefully not make the same mistake again."
With the head-butt episode now firmly behind him, the youngster is eager to show his worth on Saturday, where he'll again come face-to-face with Sharpe.
"It's always only about winning. In order to pull the Springbok jersey over your head, you always have to be hungry. It doesn't matter against who or where you play. I want to play better every week and I'm never satisfied.
"I want to cross the advantage line more regularly. And I want to tackle more guys backwards," he warned.
And Etzebeth will get his chance to do just that come 17:00 on Saturday...
Teams:
South Africa:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (captain), 12 Francois Steyn/Jaco Taute, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Beast Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Elton Jantjies, 21 Jaco Taute/Juan de Jongh, 22 Patrick Lambie
Australia:
15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Dominic Shipperley, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson
Substitutes: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Anthony Fainga'a
The 20-year-old missed the last Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks in Dunedin after being suspended for head-butting Wallaby skipper Nathan Sharpe in Perth on September 8. That was his sixth Test in a row since he made his debut against England in June.
The Stormers enforcer told Beeld of his frustration at watching his fellow team-mates from a distance on television. "It was hard watching the guys go onto the field knowing I'm not there to help," he said. "It wasn't nice but they (SANZAR) made their decision and unfortunately I couldn't play. You just try to put it behind you and learn from it to hopefully not make the same mistake again."
With the head-butt episode now firmly behind him, the youngster is eager to show his worth on Saturday, where he'll again come face-to-face with Sharpe.
"It's always only about winning. In order to pull the Springbok jersey over your head, you always have to be hungry. It doesn't matter against who or where you play. I want to play better every week and I'm never satisfied.
"I want to cross the advantage line more regularly. And I want to tackle more guys backwards," he warned.
And Etzebeth will get his chance to do just that come 17:00 on Saturday...
Teams:
South Africa:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (captain), 12 Francois Steyn/Jaco Taute, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Beast Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Elton Jantjies, 21 Jaco Taute/Juan de Jongh, 22 Patrick Lambie
Australia:
15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Dominic Shipperley, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson
Substitutes: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Anthony Fainga'a
