adminJOHANNESBURG. — Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira has travelled a long way in his rugby career since the early days when he used to cycle home from the Sharks Academy up the tortuous hills of the Durban suburb of Morningside after training sessions, but he has not forgotten the man who made his journey possible.
An able athlete at school and a Sevens player to boot, the man who celebrates his 50th Springbok cap in the deciding Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against the All Blacks at Ellis Park tomorrow was a flank when he arrived in Durban from Zimbabwe to take up a place at the Academy.
He knows that flank was arguably not a position where he would have made the impact he has since making his international debut in 2008.
Moving me to prop was a decision made on my behalf by Dick Muir (then the Sharks coach at the time) but it was the best decision because it certainly helped my career and was instrumental in setting up the journey that I have enjoyed,” said Mtawarira.
He joins fellows Sharks players Jannie and Bismarck du Plessis in reaching the 50-cap mark, and leaves no doubt that there is a special bond between the provincial teammates, as well as a good understanding between them.
“Bissie took me aside yesterday and whispered in my ear.
He told me he expects nothing less than my best on Saturday.”
Indeed, so does the entire South African nation, for the scrums will be a crucial part of the game as the Springboks go out to lay the platform they will need if they are to succeed in their objective of scoring four tries and thus stealing the Rugby Championship title from under the noses of the All Blacks.
“There is no doubt that the All Blacks present a massive scrummaging test for us but we have been working really hard under our excellent scrum coach Pieter de Villiers and we have developed a strong scrummaging culture,” said the loose-head prop.
“We’re looking to improve all the time and we are constantly working on our game, and this week is no different.
It is a big game for me, being my 50th, and I am proud of that achievement, but there is of course a lot more to his match than my landmark.
This game is the next best thing to a World Cup final, a really massive clash. We are all looking forward to it immensely.
“For us this is a final, and that is what I am focusing on, rather than it being my 50th. It was one of my goals, to reach 50 though, and I am pleased to be doing that.
I would like to go beyond that now and look to build towards 100 caps.”
Unsurprisingly, Mtawarira says that the most memorable part of his journey so far was the successful 2009 season with the Springboks, one he would like to recreate by winning and hitting the target set for the Boks on Saturday.
“The British and Irish Lions series, because it only comes around every 12 years, was special, and winning it was a memorable achievement.
And then later that year we won the Tri-Nations. I remember how the guys in the team developed a really strong bond and became a band of brothers. That was special.”
But he also has a strong recollection of what happened before he broke through first into provincial rugby and then into the Springboks, and he still uses it as motivation.
“Just to remind me of where I came from I like to think back to the days when I had a bicycle and I cycled every day to the Academy. The guys were always teasing me about it, and it does make me recall how there was a time when I didn’t have anything.
“I cycled quite a long way, and I enjoyed it because it helped me become fitter and stronger than the other guys.
The house I was staying in was at the top of Morningside, so obviously while the cycle down to Kings Park was fairly easy, the ride home up those long hills was very tough.” — SuperSport.com.
Online Reporter