Inspirational rise of the ‘Beast’ from Zimbabwe
NICK CAIN looks at the rise of Springbok powerhouse Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira
TENDAI Mtawarira’s rise from being a cashstrapped immigrant who was almost deported, to a Springbok rugby icon has been the talk of South African sport since the 2018 England tourists arrived here.
That is because when Mtawarira won his 100th Springbok cap in Bloemfontein yesterday against England it was a landmark in two important respects.
The first is that the Zimbabwean-born loose-head is a great success story in terms of the reconciliation and racial integration that is a recurrent theme in today’s South Africa. By becoming the first black player to win 100 caps for South Africa, Mtawarira – known affectionately as ‘Beast’ for his barnstorming carrying and tackling – has become an aspirational figure for young black and mixed race players throughout the country.
The second is that he is an inspirational figure to black and white alike because of the athletic prowess and unbending dedication that have seen him scale the international heights to become only the sixth Springbok centurion.
Mtawarira has joined John Smit, Percy Montgomery, Victor Matfield, Jean de Villiers, and Bryan Habana in reaching the 100 cap marker.
He is also only the seventh prop in Rugby Union history to break the century barrier, rubbing shoulders with Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones (Wales), Jason Leonard (England), Tony Woodcock (NZ), Martin Castrogiovanni and Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy), and John Hayes (Ireland), in a position which prizes durability above all else.
Mtawarira says he wants to push on well past this prized milestone by playing in the 2019 World Cup. By that time he will be 34, but as a model pro who has looked after himself assiduously in conditioning terms – including not drinking alcohol – he has given himself every chance of achieving that goal.
As Red Rose tight-head Kyle Sinckler discovered in England’s opening Test loss at Ellis Park the volume of experience Mtawarira has accumulated since he was first capped against Wales in 2008 gives him the scrummaging armoury to remain a formidable set-piece opponent.
Whether he retains the ability to smash forward and fragment defences, or make the sort of crunching tackles that levelled the England wing Paul Sackey at Twickenham a decade ago, is more debatable given the mileage Mtawarira has on the clock. However, the Bok veteran, who is 6ft and weighs 18st 4lbs, has proved before that he has adaptability as well as durability.
He was a back row forward when he first arrived at the Sharks academy as an 18-yearold having started playing at Churchill School in Harare, which also boasts the heavyweight boxer Dereck Chisora among its old boys. He then went on to win a scholarship to Peterhouse School before being picked for the Zimbabawe U19 side.
His subsequent move to Durban in 2005 was the making of Mtawarira, who arrived in South Africa at one of the country’s leading rugby provinces with none of the material advantages of many of the other young aspirants and used to turn up to training on an old bicycle.
However, what he had that was priceless was the hungry fighter’s burning ambition to get to the top, and he was soon on the radar of the Sharks coach Dick Muir, who was to become the Springbok assistant coach during the 2009 Lions tour.
Muir wasted no time in telling Mtawarira that he had a major adjustment to make, advising him that he was not going to be a Test flanker but that he had all the assets required of an elite loose-head.
Mtawarira admits now that initially he did not like the idea one bit, but says that reluctantly going along with it was the best decision he made. Muir also put the right motivation and support system in place, telling the youngster that if he made big gains in technique he would have a place for him in the Sharks team, and then surrounded him with front row expertise.
Mtawarira says that his main mentor at the outset was Balie Swart, the tight-head in South Africa’s 1995 World Cupwinning side. He says that Swart, “taught me everything I know about scrummaging”.
He says that other Springbok front rowers like John Smit, BJ Botha, and Deon Carstens were also generous with their help, and that the Du Plessis brothers, hooker Bismarck and tight-head Jannie, who call him their adopted brother, were also influential as teammates for the Sharks and South Africa.
“Bismarck pushed me in every game we played together... he was always challenging me to go beyond what I thought were my limits,” Mtawarira said.
That rigour held him in good stead when he faced the 2009 Lions, writing himself into Springbok folklore by getting the jump on their English tighthead Phil Vickery so effectively at the scrum that it provided the platform for a crucial first Test victory in a series which South Africa went on to win 2-1.
That year the Springboks also won the Tri-Nations title for the first time since 2004, beating New Zealand in three consecutive games – but success on the field was soon followed by turmoil off it in 2010 when an SA government sports committee questioned Mtawarira’s right as a Zimbabwean to play for the Springboks.
He has described it since as the low point of his career, with his future in the balance and the threat of deportation, despite his son and daughter being born in Durban. Mtawarira was removed from the South Africa squad for six months, missing the home series against France, until the intervention of the SA Home Affairs minister resulted in him being given a South African passport.
He recovered from another setback when, in the 2012 autumn series, he was hospitalised in Dublin following heart palpitations and had to be given electric current therapy to treat the arrhythmia.
Mtawarira says his Christian faith helped him to remain positive, and that he was determined not to retire, adopting a mind-over-matter outlook. He forced his way back into the Springbok squad the following year.
Six years on that same resolve is evident in a message to youngsters in a recent interview in SA Rugby in which Mtawarira described his 100 cap milestone as, “bigger than one man”.
He added: “I didn’t come from a privileged background. I can relate to kids who don’t have a lot of resources at their disposal. My message to them is simple: never let your circumstances dictate your future. Don’t let anything stop you, whether you want to be the next player to win 100 caps for the Boks, or the next big doctor or pilot. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done.”
“Never let your cicrcumstances dictate your future. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done”