BEAST IS BORN
In this extract from his memoir, Springbok legend Tendai Mtawarira explains how he earned the nickname fans know and love
WHEN the season began and I had to face other tightheads, I was ready, purely because of the intensity we brought to preseason training. BJ Botha was the starting Springbok in that position at the time and he’d drill me in training, to the extent that all parts of my body hurt after a session.
I actually think that because of the quality of the people I was training with I grew more – and faster – than I would have been able to do in match situations.
The first time I had a chance to try out what I’d learnt was in a warm-up game against the Cheetahs at Kings Park in January 2007. I packed down against CJ van der Linde, who was the other
Springbok tighthead alongside BJ. Deon Carstens started the game for us, and I came off the bench and I remember being so hyped up that I could’ve exploded. So the first scrum came and it was just perfect: my body position was right, we got the perfect hit, and from there everything just came naturally . . .
THE Sharks had a great draw for the Super 14 in 2007, with six home games in the first two months. Their first away match was against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in Week 6. The season began with a match against the Bulls at Kings Park on 3 February. Deon Carstens was the starting loose head, with Gideon “Kees” Lensing on the bench. Lensing was a Namibian who’d played for his country in the 2003 World Cup. He had a few good seasons for the Bulls, then spent the 2005/6 season with Leeds in England. When he came back to South Africa, coach Dick Muir signed Lensing as cover for the 2006 Currie Cup season. In the game against the Bulls, BJ Botha picked up an injury, so Carstens moved to tighthead for the second match and Lensing started at loose head, which opened up a spot on the bench. I was sitting back thinking, “There’s no way he’s going to use me,” but on Tuesday evening when the team to play the Waratahs was announced, my name was among them. I was shocked. I couldn’t sleep the whole week. Even though I’d worked so hard for it, given it everything, sacrificed so much, still I couldn’t believe it. Being named on the bench was the best moment of my life. The big moment came with about 20 minutes left in the game. There was a scrum and it was at that moment Dick decided to make the change, so I leapt off the bench and raced onto the field.
IHAD this thing I used to do when I was really excited – I used to growl like a lion – and when John Smit heard me he had to tell me to calm down! When we engaged at the scrum it was just like it had happened in the warm-up game with the Cheetahs. Everything went perfectly: I was as solid as a rock and we got a really good ball from the scrum. I hadn’t been on the field long when Butch James scored a try and that proved to be the decisive moment.
I nearly scored from a drive close to the line, but I was held up – and that’s the story of my life. I’ve been held up so many times it feels like somebody’s out to get me! In retrospect, probably the most significant thing to happen in that game wasn’t on the field, but in the stands.
I was still part of the Sharks Academy and at home games all the academy guys sit in the main stand above the dugout, close to the tunnel where the players run out. That day they were there as usual and the first time I got the ball, one of the students shouted out, “Beeaassstttt!” And the next time I got the ball the other academy guys joined in and the crowd picked up on it. Before I knew it the whole stadium was screaming “Beeaassstttt!” And it moved from stadium to stadium as the season progressed.