Hard man Eben Etzebeth has issued a challenge to his teammates‚ suggesting anyone who believes that simply being in the Springbok team is enough‚ would be better served being somewhere else. Etzebeth‚ 24‚ has played 44 Tests and is considered one of the hardest and most accomplished locks of his generation. He might be young in terms of age‚ but Etzebeth has been a consistent feature in the Bok team over the past four years since making his Test debut against England in June 2012. He’s played more Tests than games for the Stormers. And due to his stature in the game‚ and naturally confrontational style‚ he is an unquestioned leader of this young squad‚ which features 10 uncapped players in the 32-man group. Etzebeth has grown up quickly as a Test player having enjoyed some peaks and also some incredible lows in that time. Those lows include a first-ever defeat by Argentina‚ the infamous World Cup loss to Japan last year (although he didn’t play that match) and five defeats in his six outings against the All Blacks. But the thing that irks Etzebeth the most when assessing his four-year Test career is that the Springboks have not won any meaningful silverware. Token trophies for once off matches don’t cut it with the second row giant. “If anyone in the Springbok team thinks that the last four years was good enough then they shouldn’t be involved in the Bok environment‚” Etzebeth said before the squad gathered in Stellenbosch last week. “We need some silverware. We play this game and work as hard as we do because we want rewards and the only measure of reward is winning trophies. “We didn’t do that in the last four years and we have to change that in the next four years. We will try to be a better team.“If you play for the Springboks‚ second best is not good enough. If you play for the Boks you have to strive to be on top. “Every week I’m trying to be better at aspects I need to improve and overall to be a better player. That should be everyone’s goal.” Despite hovering between second and fourth in the world for the better part of the last four years‚ there is only one place that Etzebeth wants to see the Boks – at No 1. “As a Springbok team and squad there is no reason why we can’t aim for number one in the world and stay there‚” Etzebeth said. “That is every tier one country’s goal‚ otherwise you shouldn’t be there. “It will be interesting to see how [new coach] Allister Coetzee goes. He was a great coach at the Stormers and I expect he will be the same at Test level and help us take it up a few notches.” - TMG Digital..