Hollywoodbets Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth is now back to full fitness and despite missing sections of the campaign, is ready to lead his team to glory as they prepare for Munster’s visit to Hollywoodbets Kings Park for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-final.
He admits that after a frustrating period watching from the sidelines, the body is faring well after the injury break.
“It’s weird to say my body is feeling fresh, we’re in the knock-out stages with three games left, and I haven’t played a lot this year, so it has been quite frustrating with the concussion. There’s no real timeline on recovery, it’s down to your symptoms and how you respond to certain treatments. It was frustrating thinking I’d be back in a week or tw,o but it just got longer.
“And then when I did return, I picked up a hamstring injury and had to sit out for longer. But now it’s good to be back, and it was good to get that first 80 minutes under the belt against Scarlets.
“Playing 20 [minutes] here or 60 there is ok, but once you finally get a full game of 80 minutes of rugby, you’re more positive and you really feel that you’re back in the mix.”
The Hollywoodbets Sharks' history in the competition has never progressed past the quarter-final stages. After a third-place finish on the log, they now get home ground advantage.
“This is the first time we’re hosting a quarter-final [in the VURC], which is definitely an advantage. But two seasons ago Munster played a quarter-final, semi and the final away, so they are used to play-off success away from home. The knock-outs are the most important part of the season; everything that’s gone before no longer counts.
“But it’s a good opportunity for us to push further in this competition. Home ground advantage, doing it in front of our fans is a massive bonus.”
Following on from their 41-27 defeat to the Hollywoodbets Sharks in the pool stages, Munster changed coaches, with Graham Rowntree departing and Clayton McMillan, the former Chiefs coach, guiding the New Zealand side to three Super Rugby finals in four years.
“They’re a quality side,” says Etzebeth, “they have a history of playing well in knock-out games, so we’re aware of the fact that they are still at their best playing away from home.”
Despite the big margin of victory in October last year, Etzebeth admits that the result is in the past. “We don’t look back at that game when we came out on top, but this is a new game.
“A week in rugby is a long time, and that was morethan half a year ago, so that result means nothing now.”
The season has been disruptive for the Hollywoodbets Sharks, losing numerous frontline players to injury – Etzebeth included – and after some outstanding results in the earlier parts of the season, the captain admits that there were a few results they weren’t happy with, until the latter stages leading into the knock-outs when they posted victory after victory.
“This is the highest the Hollywoodbets Sharks have ever ended up in the VURC. We finished third and the first time we host a quarter-final, so this has been one of our best VURC’s yet. I know some fans were frustrated at time, we as players and coaches were too. But what has happened before doesn’t count any more.
“We have a home quarter, we know if we win that we will stay in South Africa for the semis, whether that’s at home or against the Vodacom Bulls, and we’ll see what happens after that.
“But for now the focus is on Munster.”