Over in Japan, the Springboks have rebounded from an opening loss to New Zealand with back to back wins and will qualify for the quarter-finals with a win over Canada tomorrow.

Eben Etzebeth will be on the bench for our final pool game, but he will certainly be paying close attention to what’s going on back home, with the stormclouds around his alleged Langebaan assault growing by the day.

This story centres around an assault that took place outside a popular Langebaan pub on August 24, with some grainy footage purported to show the Springbok’s involvement.

In the weeks that have followed, the matter has not gone away, with the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) getting involved after a complaint was laid by Sammy Claassen, a community leader from the West Coast.

Things escalated again last Friday, with SAHRC filing four Equality Court applications on behalf of coloured Langebaan residents who are accusing the Springbok of assault, wielding a firearm and hate speech.

Those residents are also claiming R1 million from the player.

It appears that the community has had enough of the behaviour of what they’ve dubbed the ‘Wolf Pack’, saying that the 27-year-old and his cohorts are notorious along the West Coast.

TimesLIVE reporting below:

…Langebaan residents said the August 24 incident that placed Etzebeth in the HRC’s crosshairs was just the latest involving the Wolf Pack.

They told the Sunday Times the 123kg player usually stood with his arms folded and looked on when the Wolf Pack became involved in violence.

The owner of a Club Mykonos restaurant said Etzebeth was involved in a fight on New Year’s Eve. “He and his brother and his burly cousin were involved in a fight next door. It was after midnight when he [Eben Etzebeth] head-butted someone,” the owner said.

“People are scared of him, these guys are very rough. My question is, why wasn’t he arrested? They’re above the law. No-one opens cases against them.

“In these small towns the police try to keep their case numbers low because it looks like they have their town under control.”

…”A white compatriot, an elderly pensioner, has brought to my attention that there are other allegations against the Etzebeths that have not been handled properly and he would like the commission to also intervene,” said [HRC acting legal head Buang] Jones.

“We were told last night by the community that Mr Etzebeth and his friends, they call themselves the Wolf Pack gang, they have been terrorising communities on the west coast and they would like the commission to intervene.”

Through his lawyer, Andre Calitz, Etzebeth has denied any wrongdoing, and his only public statement on the matter remains the Facebook post from August 25.

The night of August 24 began at Langebaan Yacht Club, where the Wolf Pack was kicking off Etzebeth’s World Cup going-away party, and one club member who was present also complained about their behaviour:

 Victor Khan says Etzebeth caused a fight after making derogatory comments about other club members. Khan confirmed yesterday that he had sent the e-mail, but declined to comment further.

His e-mail said: “It is with a saddened heart that I am needing to address this matter with you, now knowing how far that evening has gone with Mr Etzebeth.”

He said Etzebeth had been at the yacht club with a “huge crew” of people. “Whilst there they made derogatory comments of ‘h*****s’ and a fight broke out.

“I am not usually one to not say anything, but due to the amount of people he had brought in there I felt a bit intimidated, as they were very verbally aggressive and continuously used derogatory terms to the coloured/black race.”

OK, that’s one more witness who accuses Etzebeth and his pals of using racist language and becoming violent.

You can also add a bartender at Die Watergat, the pub where they ended up and where the alleged assault took place, to the mix:

A bartender said the evening followed the usual pattern. “[Etzebeth] causes trouble, chirping people and calling them names, and when someone tries something his brother and his cousin and their friends will fight and he just stands there with his arms folded,” he said.

The real trouble occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, with witnesses reporting that Etzebeth wanted to show off his car, a Ford Mustang, to friends.

Someone reportedly threw an object at his car, and he retaliated with a racial slur. According to Lelanie Ox, a witness, Etzebeth shouted: “Don’t you ‘h*******e’ have anything better to do on a Saturday evening?”

A brawl then broke out, and 42-year-old homeless man Enver Blaauw was badly beaten.

Also on the scene at the time of the fight was a kickboxer, who said he felt obliged to intervene after hearing Etzebeth use racial slurs:

“I saw that they were fighting and I told them to stop, this isn’t right. Then there were four guys in front of me. One of them had a gun. Etzebeth was standing over Enver Blaauw there, a little away from me,” he said. “Then these guys started hitting me. One of them had a firearm, he pistol-whipped me over and over again on my face and head. Then I blacked out.”

The man said Etzebeth was not one of his assailants. “How could he be hitting me if he was standing there with [the other victim]?”

But he had heard the rugby player using racial slurs. “What he said wasn’t right. What happened that night wasn’t right from both sides, but he’s a person with stature, he shouldn’t be doing stuff like that.”

There are other witnesses, too, who were on the scene that have come forward to back up claims that Etzebeth was racially abusive, and there is little to no chance that this will go away any time soon.

A source close to the Springbok said the issue has been “foremost in Etzebeth’s mind”, which is far from ideal when you’re playing in rugby’s showcase tournament.

Rumours about the Etzebeth family and their misconduct have been flying around for ages, and family friend Andrew Baird sought to clear a few things up:

“I know Etzebeth. His father’s brothers were very rough guys. One of them was shot and killed in Bonteheuwel doing a car repossession. But his father is a very calm and quiet guy,” he said.

“These people are now trying to use his family’s rough reputation to place all the blame on him because they know he has money.”

When your posse has a nickname, the Wolf Pack, and multiple witnesses corroborate the story that you were racially abusive, you may be fighting a losing battle.

IOL is also reporting that another member of the Langebaan Yacht Club, who was there on the night of August 24, has spoken out about the behaviour of Etzebeth and his party, calling the lock forward “already drunk and aggressive” when he and his friends arrived:

The resident, who spoke to Weekend Argus on condition of anonymity, said the row erupted when one of the coloured members of the club asked someone in Etzebeth’s group to remove his cap.

“The club’s rules state that you are not allowed to wear a cap inside the facility. Also, it is against the rules for a non-member to enter the club without being accompanied by a member. Eben and his friends are not members of the club,” said the resident.

Etzebeth and his friends allegedly took exception to being called to order by the member and the manager of the facility had to be called to break up the scuffle.

“They were rude and were swearing at the coloured members. They were displaying macho behaviour. They approached the coloured members and that’s when the drama started,” said the resident.

As things stand, SA Rugby president Mark Alexander is standing firm against calls for Etzebeth to return home.

Opinion on that remain divided, but there’s no denying that calls for that to happen are growing stronger by the day.

The Springboks have had some ridiculous allegations of racism levelled against them this World Cup, but with so many witnesses present on the night of August 24 looking to hold Etzebeth and the Wolf Pack to account, this story won’t be as easy to dismiss.

[sources:timeslive&iol]