Eben fires shots at 'arrogant' Ireland

30/04/2024 19:23

Eben Etzebeth has stoked the fire for Ireland’s tour of South Africa by accusing Andy Farrell’s side of arrogance following the World Cup clash with the Springboks.

Ireland claimed a 13-8 victory in an intense and physical pool stage match in Paris, but the Springboks retained their World Cup title, beating the All Blacks in the final five weeks later.

The Irish would get knocked out by the All Blacks in the quarter-finals, continuing the curse that has seen them miss out on every World Cup semi-final.

South Africa will host Ireland in a two-Test series, which will get underway at Loftus Versfeld on 6 July.

During an appearance on the latest episode of The Rugby Pod with Jim Hamilton, Etzebeth recalled being stunned by what some of the Irish players told him after the pool stage match.

"After the game, you shake the guys' hands and probably 12 out of the 23 told me, 'See you guys in the final'," Etzebeth said.

"My immediate thought was because of the way the logs worked, we were going to play France and they were going to play New Zealand.

"My immediate thought was, 'Are these guys seriously not even thinking about the All Blacks in a World Cup quarter-final, playing against them?'

"That remark that they made – 'see you guys in the final'. I just thought these guys were making a big mistake to look past probably the most dominant team in the last 20 to 30 years of Test rugby. Surely, they can't.

"We would never say that because we knew we've got the host nation and we were going to have to pitch up to beat France in their backyard.

"It just felt like they were just so confident saying things like that when you know you got the mighty All Blacks coming up in a World Cup quarter-final.

"I think Frans Malherbe was with me and I said, 'Í don't know if these guys are riding a bit high',” Etzebeth added. "Obviously, it is good to be confident, but you can never be arrogant in this game.

"You can have the best season and you can have one slip-up or one missed tackle and a guy puts you on your arse.

"That's the beauty of this game, you are never on top forever."

Photo: Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images

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