Quietly powerful ‘Beast’ set for 93rd test

SPRINGBOK scrum coach Matt Proudfoot says Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira’s quietly powerful contributions have mirrored the team’s ascendant test performances this season.

Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash between Australia and South Africa at the nib Stadium in Perth will be Mtawarira’s 93rd test.

He is already the most capped Springbok prop of all time‚ but that is not the enduring quality that has impressed Proudfoot.

Proudfoot said Mtawarira had rolled back the clock to the 2009 British and Irish Lions series where he destroyed celebrated England tight-head prop Phil Vickery

“He’s the guy with 92 test caps and you have to respect that,” he said.

“It’s a pleasure to work with the most capped South African prop.

“He’s eager to learn and he’s getting back to carrying the ball more and passing the ball more.

“His defence has also been exceptional. When a guy gets that‚ they become confident and that’s what’s evident in the squad at the moment.

“Coach Allister Coetzee said at the start of the year that we wanted improvement. Everybody has improved everything.

“Mtawarira has rewarded us and that’s created the appetite in the team.”

Michael Cheika’s embattled Wallabies may have struggled in the scrums but they have been a different proposition in the lineouts.

Proudfoot has taken note of Wallaby hooker Stephen Moore’s absence, but felt that the Australian scrum should not be underestimated because of the pounding it took in the two Bledisloe Cup matches Australia lost to New Zealand.

Tatafu Polota-Nau may have only started 27 of his 73 tests but in Proudfoot’s estimation‚ the Waratahs hooker is a quality hooker who will bring something different to the Wallaby plate.

“Polota-Nau brings a lot to the Australian scrum‚” Proudfoot said.

“He’s a lot more aggressive on their ball. What they lose in Moore is the leadership aspect, but what they lose in the one‚ they gain in the other.

“But they have improved from the All Black test.”