Springbok veteran Eben Etzebeth believes the team’s experience of fighting with their backs against the wall helped them bounce back from 1-0 down to lead the All Blacks 2-1 in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.
The Springboks have been here before, and Eben Etzebeth believes that experience of bouncing back from adversity played a key role in their response after losing the opening Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test against the All Blacks.
South Africa knew there was no room for error after the 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park, with the pressure immediately on them to respond in the remaining Tests to give them a chance of winning the series.
Both matches in Cape Town and Soweto then delivered the desired results for the world champions, and they are on the cusp of sealing the series 3-1 if they can get a victory in Baltimore on Saturday evening (11.10pm kick-off SA time).
For Etzebeth, however, the situation was familiar. The Springboks have repeatedly shown their ability to regroup when their backs are against the wall, from the 2021 British & Irish Lions series to the Rugby World Cup, and that experience once again came to the fore against their historic rivals.
