Should top overseas Springboks return home to play for SA teams, like Eben Etzebeth will do?

Cape Town - Eben Etzebeth’s return to domestic rugby next season was announced with much glee by the Sharks last week, and understandably so.

The big No 4 is a born-and-bred Capetonian who made his name for Western Province and the Stormers, so for the Durbanites to secure his signature is a great coup for them.

But is it the right move for someone like Etzebeth, and by extension, the Springboks?

There have also been media reports that two more top Boks, lock Lood de Jager and flank Pieter-Steph du Toit, may be heading back to Mzansi in the near future, with the Stormers the possible beneficiaries in both cases.

I am not so sure about leading internationals coming back to SA rugby in the prime stages of their careers.

Sure, some may do it for personal reasons – Du Toit often posts about his family wine estate on his Instagram page, so naturally, he would prefer to be at home in the Western Cape.

Etzebeth’s situation is also unique. The 30-year-old enforcer was insulted by Toulon president Bernard Lemaitre recently, who said that the Bok secondrower was a “handicap” to the team as he was “expensive, is regularly injured and is often away on Test duty”.

While the second part of that statement may have some truth to it, that is the nature of signing top Test players – they will be in action for their countries and they will cost a lot of money. It was unfortunate that Lemaitre mentioned injuries, as that is part of most rugby players’ lot in their careers.

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So, you can understand why Etzebeth would have wanted to leave Toulon, but perhaps a move to another foreign club may have benefited his game more than joining the Sharks.

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