South Africa star Eben Etzebeth tells England star ‘to keep his mouth shut”

Eben Etzebeth expressed irritation regarding Courtney Lawes’ remarks concerning the Bulls’ strategy in last month’s Champions Cup quarterfinal against Northampton Saints.

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“My take was it’s a very South African thing to do that whole carnival around it, putting it out in the press about the eight different flights, this and that,” Lawes said at the time.

“I guarantee you that a lot of things there were at least exaggerated, to be honest, and it was a great way of them taking the pressure off themselves and essentially putting it all on us.

“Disrupting us, getting us thinking different things and not quite on the ball and that’s what I was pretty wary of, to be honest.”

Etzebeth has since responded while speaking on The Rugby Pod. He said: “That is Jake’s call. If you are a head coach you must be able to select who you want to,” said Etzebeth.

https://twitter.com/TheRugbyPod/status/1785594095051682224

“In the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup, if you don’t get a home semi, the chances of you winning that competition are very low.

“You are away from home for the quarters and then it’s a semifinal away against Leinster and then you must probably play again in Europe against Toulouse.

“They [Bulls] got a lot of criticism coming their way and it is a bit unfair.

“I saw Courtney Lawes mentioning that it is a ‘South African way’.

“I don’t know why he mentioned the whole of South Africa.

“He surely doesn’t know what is going on in South Africa, so he must rather keep his mouth shut.”

“Different characters” – There is one South Africa player that Owen Farrell absolutely hates

England’s fly-half Owen Farrell fearlessly expresses his strong opinions, especially when they concern individuals he’s not particularly fond of, reflecting his passionate and outspoken personality.

#1. Dave Attwood

Former England lock Attwood has opened up on the latest RugbyPass Offload about his ongoing rivalry with Owen Farrell.

He revealed: “On the pitch, I struggle a lot with Owen Farrell. We just don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things,

“He hates me with a passion. Despite my earthy roots, he thinks I am a posh c***. He hates that. I bagged rugby league once jovially. I was saying it to take the piss kind of thing, ‘a bloody sport for the peasants’. He f**kin’ hated it.”

Read more.

Dave Attwood facts:

• He made 157 appearances in Blue, Black and White over an eight-year period during his first spell at Bath before returning in 2022
• His debut came against Newcastle Falcons at the beginning of the 2011/12 season after arriving from Gloucester, scoring four tries in his first campaign
• The lock quickly established himself as a key player in the Bath pack and excelled at international level too, with 22 of his 24 England caps coming whilst at the Re
• The former England international has also played for Bristol (twice), Gloucester and Toulon during his established career

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