Eben Etzebeth is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South African national team and Sharks in the United Rugby Championship.

Eben Etzebeth has been sidelined since early April after suffering a shoulder injury in the Heineken Champions Cup against Munster with the Sharks but he is back as South Africa captain for the Rugby Championship against the All Blacks in Auckland this Saturday

It was initially feared that he would miss the opening match of the Rugby Championship, so he returned a little earlier than expected, just in time for the important match at Mount Smart Stadium.

Eben Etzebeth was seen as a promising player from an early age when he played for Cape Town’s Horse School Tigerburg and joined the Western Province youth organization in 2009, competing in the U-18 Cravenweek tournament. In 2011, his career took another step forward as a member of the UCT Ikey Tigers team that won the Varsity Cup. However, an injury late in the year slowed his progress and he missed the 2011 Currie Cup.

His injury did not prevent him from being called up to the Stormers squad for the 2012 Super Rugby season. He recovered from his injury before the start of the season and made his debut on February 25, 2012, against the Hurricanes. He made a total of 13 appearances during the season, helping the Stormers win 14 of their 16 league games before scoring a try in their eventual semi-final loss to the Sharks.

In the 2012 Curry Cup, international activity kept him away from the early stages, but he returned in the final stages of the tournament to win three caps for the first time as a Western state representative and win the Curry Cup title for the first time since 2002. As Man of the Match, Province returned the favor with a 25-18 victory over the Sharks in Durban.

Eben Etzebeth missed the first half of the 2013 Super Rugby season due to injury, but returned in the second half of the season, making eight appearances and scoring a try. He also scored a team-high 47 lineouts and made eight steals from opponent shots. In the 2013 Curry Cup, Etzebeth again missed most of the season due to the Springboks’ appearance but returned again for the final three games of the season. This time, a 33-19 win over Western Province in Cape Town failed to stop the Sharks from turning the tables and reclaiming the Curry Cup.

The first 6 months of 2014 saw Eben Etzebeth a foot injury sustained while on international duty in November 2013 ruled him out of the entire campaign. He remained committed to both of his Cape Town-based sides and in April 2013, he signed a deal that would keep him tied to Western Province and the Stormers until 2016. Etzebeth was yellow-carded following a fight with Blues loose forward Akira Ioane in 2017.

In December 2018, Top 14 side Toulon announced Eben Etzebeth would join them after the 2019 Rugby World Cup. In January 2021, he made a start at Blindside Flank for the first time after teammate Swan Rebbadj got injured prior to kick-off. In February 2022, the Sharks (rugby union) signed Etzebeth on a long-term contract until 2027. On the 16th of July 2022, he won his 100th cap for South Africa in a 30–14 win over Wales becoming only the 7th Springbok to reach this milestone.

What is Eben Etzebeth’s relationship status?

Eben Etzebeth married actress and singer Anlia van Rensburg on Saturday 4 February at the La Paris estate in Franschhoek, Western Cape. Van Rensburg sang the South African national anthem on his 100th test cap which made him only the 7th Springbok to reach this milestone.