The South African Rugby Union vowed to fully collaborate with an investigation into allegations that Eben Etzebeth assaulted and racially abused a homeless man in August in Langebaan, a town about 120km north of Cape Town.
The union maintained that it will not condone acts of violence or racial abuse and will take appropriate action once the legal investigation and process have been finalized.
SA Rugby had previously issued a statement in which it said they will support Etzebeth until it was proven that he was guilty of the allegations leveled against him.
Etzebeth met with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) last month to establish a commitment of cooperation between the two parties.
The player has already denied any wrongdoing to the commission and pledged his full cooperation into the investigation.
“It is completely untrue and unfounded to claim that I physically or racially abused anyone in Langebaan as has been reported on social media. Multiple witnesses can corroborate that,” Etzebeth said at the time.
Etzebeth was named by coach Rassie Erasmus in South Africa’s 31-man squad to represent the two-time World champions at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
However, some critics, like former Springboks coach Peter de Villiers, have denounced the move to include Etzebeth in the Rugby World Cup squad as investigations are not yet complete.
