Tenacious Beast poised to go 100 up

HE is a man of few words‚ but thankfully many scrums.

Tendai “the Beast” Mtawarira will play his 100th test on Saturday‚ a fact that was confirmed well before the team is named today.

He is that important to the Springbok cause.

“He will definitely get picked‚” Rassie Erasmus said, following the trend set by his predecessors for their No 1 choice.

In the murky waters of the scrum‚ Beast has brought clarity to a succession of Bok coaches. He has been their go-to man for the last decade.

Mtawarira, who debuted at test level in 2008, has been monumental to the Bok cause.

He has outlasted Peter de Villiers‚ Heyneke Meyer and Allister Coetzee and he has remained relevant at the start of the Erasmus era.

Bok forwards coach Matt Proudfoot‚ himself a former front ranker at the highest level‚ was in full recognition of the moment.

“When the moment comes‚ it will be a fantastic achievement for a very good man.

“The stats will show that he has started a large majority of his 99 tests up to this point‚” Proudfoot said.

“It’s an incredible achievement‚ especially when you consider his longevity in a really tough position where there’s a lot of competition.

“This will be something to savour‚ and I’d like to see the pack respond to that and make it a special occasion. We want to cherish this moment for him and honour it accordingly.”

Proudfoot said the vicissitudes of front row play required its practitioners to show resilience and roll with the punches.

Mtawarira would not be approaching 100 caps if he, too, was not prone to dips in form.

Repeatedly, he has come out the other side having come to grips with what he needed to do. His durability is beyond question. “Beast takes care of his body‚ he works hard and does the extras‚” Proudfoot said.

“He’s a professional. Beast also has a very good physique and confidence in his abilities‚ but he’s also been prepared to learn and ride out the ups and downs‚” he said. – TimesLIVE