Eben Etzebeth says his mind is completely focused on the Stormers despite already agreeing to a move to Toulon after the World Cup. DYLAN JACK reports.

Etzebeth’s future was the subject of intense speculation towards the end of the year, but all conjecture came to an end when Toulon announced that they had signed him on a two-year deal in December.

The 27-year-old says that he is focused on only one thing, though: helping the Stormers finish the Vodacom Super Rugby campaign on a high.

‘I am not thinking about that at all,’ he commented when asked about his imminent move at a Stormers training session on Monday.

‘For me, it is [about] looking at the challenge of playing against the Crusaders [this weekend], and for the Stormers to still be part of it [the competition] when the round robin comes to a close. We are going to have to win most, if not all five of our remaining games to be a part of the quarter-finals.’

Despite enduring another season that has been disrupted by injury niggles, Etzebeth says he is feeling fresh and ready to fire in what will be his last season with his domestic team.

‘I am feeling good. It is nice to be able to play Super Rugby. I missed the whole of last season and have also been out for a few games this year through injury. I am looking to finish the season off strong.’

With the Crusaders’ challenge awaiting on Saturday, Etzebeth added that the Stormers can take a major step forward towards the playoffs should they be able to nick a win at Newlands.

‘If we can win this game; firstly they are the defending champions, so that is one box ticked. They are also far ahead in the competition, so if you can beat the No 1 team, you can probably beat all the other teams. It will definitely be a very positive thing for us if we can pull this off.’

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