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The Super Rugby record 'The Beast' is about to break and the fellow Bok he's taking it from

By Chris Jones
Tendai Mtawarira

Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira has been hailed as a rugby legend as he prepares to equal Adriaan Strauss’ record as the most capped South African Super Rugby player.

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Mtawarira will make his 156th appearance in the competition against the Bulls at Kings Park but he is still some way behind retired Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett who holds the overall record with 202 matches for the nine-time champions.

Sharks coach Robert du Preez is acutely aware of how much the Sharks depend on the loosehead prop whose nickname is chanted by Kings Park crowd every time he touches the ball. Beast is now 33-years-old and has won 107 Springbok caps and Du Preez spoke for a nation when he said: “When you speak about Beast‚ you need a long time to talk about him. It’s not a cliché but he’s a true legend of the game and he’s been immense for us this year with his leadership on and off the field.”

Strauss played for the Cheetahs and then the Bulls and was a test front row colleague of Mtawarira’s but the prop has remained with the Sharks throughout his career which started in 2007. The problem facing Mtawarira and his team mates in trying to register a win to mark the prop’s achievement is their dreadful record against the Bulls who have veteran hooker Schalk Brits in their front row.

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The Bulls beat the Sharks 37-14 earlier this month in Pretoria and that extended their recent domination over their fellow South Africans. In the last eight matches between teams, the Bulls have seven wins and a draw which is a record of success going back to 2014.

Sharks midfield options have been limited after centre Marius Louw was suspended by a Sanzaar Foul Play Committee for three weeks to join fellow centre, Jeremy Ward in the stands. Ward was given a five-week suspension for a reckless and dangerous tackle in the match against the Bulls in Pretoria and Louw was penalised for the same offence on a Rebels player at the weekend.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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