In his Super 14 debut against the Waratahs last year, Mtawarira had to pack down against Wallaby prop Al Baxter, and as the first scrum went down Baxter had quite a bit to say. I'm going to chow you! Mtawarira's baptism of fire in the Tri-Nations was no bed of roses, either, as the Springboks finished bottom in this year's southern hemisphere series, a mere 10 months after they had been crowned world champions in France.
However, we do have a new coach and management. We've got a good squad of players to choose from, so there are exciting times ahead. Everything, including the scrummaging side of things, went well that day; we really started to gel as a team.
However, I've got to be selected first. More significantly, from a socio-political perspective, he has been a champion of transformation in not only rugby but sport at large. As SA Rugby continues to be dogged by political controversies, like the most recent furore over the Springbok emblem, and artificial endeavours towards transformation in the sport, Beast and his massive popularity, among mostly white kids, is a chief example that real transformation, as well as the changed mindsets that have to go with it, is actually happening - in a natural and spontaneous way.
He moved to a proper rugby high school before his big break came while playing for a representative team for his country of birth. They invited me to come to the academy and offered me a bursary to study, and play rugby. The Beast spent a few seasons honing his skills in the academy sides at the Sharks, and it was as he was coming to the end of his tenure as a junior that then head coach Dick Muir had a radical, career-defining idea.
Balie Swart was the scrummaging coach at the time, so he took me under his wing and taught me everything I know to this day. That, as it happens, is an awful lot. Fast forward six years and he has amassed 64 caps as part of the most feared front row in world rugby. Alongside the du Plessis brothers, the Springboks have a trio that has struck fear into the heart of most comers for years.
The Beast speaks fondly of his partners in scrummaging crime. Commenter is a huge rugby guy, so it was cool to see him interview one of the legends in the sport. And I'm sure I can speak for the majority of the AWL's in that it was awesome to learn about some of the stories of this unique game. Don't mess with The Beast.
Cat: We have a guy who we work with who's from Zimbabwe. Commenter: Jake, can you look that up? Facebook Twitter Copy Link. But 10 years ago, his future as a Springbok was thrown into doubt after it emerged he did not have a residency permit. But the South African government ruled that fielding a foreigner violated the laws of the country. In November , it ordered the immediate axing of the Zimbabwean prop until proper documentation was obtained. After an application was lodged for citizenship by the SA Rugby Union Saru , helped by spirited lobbying efforts from renowned personalities such as the Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mtawarira was finally granted citizenship in June The World Cup is accumulation of things I had been working hard for.
I wanted to retire last year.
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