Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth has played a Test match since the November outing against Wales.
Most South Africans will be looking for one specific name above all others when Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus announces his team to face Argentina on Tuesday evening.
The most-capped Springbok of all time and one of the country’s greatest-ever rugby players, Eben Etzebeth, has barely taken the field this year following suspension and injury problems. With the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour against the All Blacks just around the corner, if any player in Erasmus' squad desperately requires game time against Los Pumas this weekend, it is the big lock.
Etzebeth is desperately short on match fitness, having managed barely 40 minutes of competitive rugby since the Test against Wales last November. That leaves the legendary lock in a race against time to sharpen his engine before the first Test against the Kiwis on 22 August at Ellis Park.
The towering enforcer's stop-start campaign began with a three-month ban following an eye-gouging incident against Wales. Just as he launched his comeback for the Sharks, a hip injury immediately sidelined him again. To compound matters, he was subsequently withdrawn ahead of the England clash last month after taking a heavy blow to the head, with Springbok management opting to keep him out of the subsequent Test matches against Scotland and Wales due to previous concussion issues.
