Before he became the most capped Springbok of all time, Eben Etzebeth was a 19-year-old lock learning his trade in the intense arena of South African university rugby.
During the 2011 Varsity Cup, former University of Cape Town (UCT) Ikeys coach Kevin Foote did something few modern rugby players would ever dare to do: he absolutely lost his temper with the future Springbok enforcer.
Speaking on SuperSport’s Boks Unpacked, Foote recounted the terrifying, yet legendary, moment he lit a fire under a teenage Etzebeth during a brutal clash against Pukke (NWU) in Potchefstroom.
The match in Potchefstroom was turning into a physical nightmare for UCT because their tighthead prop, Shane Meier, was taking a beating in the set-piece.
"Our tighthead Shane Meier was getting punched in every scrum," Foote recalled. "Their lock was coming through and hitting, and I was getting so frustrated with Eben because I wanted Eben to do something about it."
This frustration boiled over right before the whistle when Etzebeth was tackled into touch. Foote admitted, "Just before half-time, he got tackled into touch, and I just lost it… I gave it to him in the half-time speech."
Foote’s assistant coach, Dave Wessels, could only watch in a mixture of awe and horror, later giving Foote a blunt reality check: "I remember Dave saying to me afterwards: you’re very lucky that Eben hasn’t killed you."
Foote's high-stakes gamble paid off immediately because the shouting match didn't break the young lock; instead, it unleashed a monster. Etzebeth’s eyes famously popped out in fury, and he single-handedly destroyed the opposition in the second half.
"He just absolutely tore into this team," said Foote. Driven entirely by the fear and physicality Etzebeth brought to the engine room, UCT went on to have a massively successful season that year.
What makes the story even more incredible is how quickly Etzebeth transitioned from a provincial nobody to an international prospect.
In October 2010, he was merely a benchwarmer for the Western Province Under-19 team, but by early 2011, he was starring for the UCT Ikeys in the Varsity Cup, and by mid-2011, he was named the starting lock for the SA Under-20 Junior Boks.
Foote knew from the very beginning that the towering lock was destined for greatness. "From the get-go we knew he was going to be special," Foote noted. "He was so fast as a lock, physical, and aggressive. So he was a big reason for us being successful that year.
"Fast forward to the present day, and that raw teenage aggression has matured into world-class mastery, as evidenced by Etzebeth recently earning his 146th Test cap when the Springboks defeated the All Blacks 43-28 to secure a thrilling 3-1 victory in the Greatest Rivalry series, solidifying his legacy as an undisputed legend of global rugby.