{"id":46059,"date":"2023-03-22T22:05:09","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T22:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier"},"modified":"2023-03-22T22:16:59","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T22:16:59","slug":"koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier","title":{"rendered":"Koch on Sharks move: ‘Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>South Africa prop Vincent Koch said on Wednesday his Test team-mate Eben Etzebeth helped convince him to return home and join the Durban-based Sharks.<\/p>\n

Koch, 33, will leave Stade Francais after this year’s Rugby World Cup for a deal at Kings Park Stadium.<\/p>\n

Lock Etzebeth moved to Durban this season to feature alongside the Springboks’ World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi, who will make the reverse trip to the French capital to join Racing 92.<\/p>\n

“Eben got lured by Siya Kolisi, and I got lured by Eben,” Koch told AFP.<\/p>\n

“Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier,” he added.<\/p>\n

Koch left South Africa in 2016 for a contract in England with Saracens. He left to join Wasps last summer but never actually played for them as the club went into administration in October.<\/p>\n

In the fall-out, he took up an offer to join Stade Francais in the Top 14 for the remainder of this season.<\/p>\n

Tight-head Koch was born in Empangeni, just two hours up the coast from Durban and his wife is from the city.<\/p>\n

“She went back home and saw my son enjoying being with his grandparents a lot,” Koch said.<\/p>\n

“I realised that there’s nothing stronger than family. I’ve been away from my family for the last seven years, I’ve missed my family, I’ve missed my country.”<\/p>\n

Koch won the 2019 World Cup alongside Etzebeth and Kolisi and will replace another member of that squad in Thomas Du Toit at the Sharks.<\/p>\n

Du Toit, 27, will leave for English club Bath after the tournament, with the final on October 28 in Paris.<\/p>\n

“The Sharks gave me an opportunity,” he said. “They said they were keen and were looking to get me on board.<\/p>\n

“Thomas Du Toit has signed for Bath so there’s an opportunity at tight-head.<\/p>\n

“They came to the table and I was more than happy to go to the Sharks,” Koch said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africa prop Vincent Koch said on Wednesday his Test team-mate Eben Etzebeth helped convince him to return home and join the Durban-based Sharks. Koch, 33, will leave Stade Francais after this year’s Rugby World Cup for a deal at Kings Park Stadium. Lock Etzebeth moved to Durban this season to feature […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":46058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-46059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nKoch on Sharks move: 'Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier' - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Africa prop Vincent Koch said on Wednesday his Test team-mate Eben Etzebeth helped convince him to return home and ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Koch on Sharks move: 'Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Africa prop Vincent Koch said on Wednesday his Test team-mate Eben Etzebeth helped convince him to return home and ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-22T22:05:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-22T22:16:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"476\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Koch on Sharks move: ‘Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier’\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-22T22:05:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-22T22:16:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier\"},\"wordCount\":342,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier\",\"name\":\"Koch on Sharks move: 'Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier' - South Africa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-22T22:05:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-22T22:16:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"South Africa prop Vincent Koch said on Wednesday his Test team-mate Eben Etzebeth helped convince him to return home and ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":476,\"caption\":\"Koch on Sharks move: 'Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier'\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Koch on Sharks move: ‘Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\",\"name\":\"South Africa\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Koch on Sharks move: 'Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier' - South Africa","description":"South Africa prop Vincent Koch said on Wednesday his Test team-mate Eben Etzebeth helped convince him to return home and ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Koch on Sharks move: 'Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier'","og_description":"South Africa prop Vincent Koch said on Wednesday his Test team-mate Eben Etzebeth helped convince him to return home and ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier","og_site_name":"South Africa","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2023-03-22T22:05:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-22T22:16:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":720,"height":476,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Koch on Sharks move: ‘Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier’","datePublished":"2023-03-22T22:05:09+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-22T22:16:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier"},"wordCount":342,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-South-Africa","South-Africa"],"articleSection":["all news","sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier","name":"Koch on Sharks move: 'Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier' - South Africa","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg","datePublished":"2023-03-22T22:05:09+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-22T22:16:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"South Africa prop Vincent Koch said on Wednesday his Test team-mate Eben Etzebeth helped convince him to return home and ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1679506514.03.jpg","width":720,"height":476,"caption":"Koch on Sharks move: 'Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier'"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/koch-on-sharks-move-mates-from-the-springboks-made-my-decision-much-easier#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Koch on Sharks move: ‘Mates from the Springboks made my decision much easier’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/","name":"South Africa","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}