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'They knocked me out and shocked me back to life' - The heart condition that nearly derailed Beast's Boks career

By Online Editors
(Photo by David Ramos/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Springboks World Cup winner Tendai Mtawarira has opened up about some deeply personal issues in his life, namely the heart condition that nearly derailed his stellar career, his faith which helped him through the crisis and his conversion in 2006 from back row to prop.

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Now retired from Test rugby following last November’s World Cup final win over England, the prop, who has since moved to Old Glory DC in America’s Major League Rugby, spoke to historian and author Dean Allen as part of a weekly fundraising effort for the Chris Burger and Petro Jackson Players’ Fund. 

Reflecting on the problematic heart condition that first affected him a decade ago, the 34-year-old former Springboks player explained it was the scariest thing to ever happen to him. “It started in 2010, during the Super Rugby season,” admitted Mtawarira about a condition where electrical impulses that coordinate a heartbeat don’t work properly, causing the heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly.

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RugbyPass brings you part two of Dean Allen’s interview with Tendai Mtawarira, the World Cup-winning Springboks prop

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RugbyPass brings you part two of Dean Allen’s interview with Tendai Mtawarira, the World Cup-winning Springboks prop

“It was a normal day, I had lunch with the boys and a cup of coffee. The next thing I felt my heart beating so fast. I called the (team) doctor and they rushed me to the cardiologist. He figured out I had a heart arrhythmia. When you hear you have some kind of heart condition, you start fearing for your career. That was the biggest shock. The cardiologist said: ‘This is not life-threatening’.

“He said it won’t stop me from playing, but it is ongoing and will slow me down. What they did when my heart went out of sync was to rush me to the emergency room. They used the defibrillators. They knocked me out and shocked me back to life. Then my heart was back in sync.

“It was a challenge and my faith came into play. I am a very strong Christian and faith has always been my foundation. I played with the condition for about six months before I went to Cape Town to do a process called ablation.

“They told me I could not do any sporting activities for two months. It was off-season, so I was able to recover and come back and play Super Rugby. However, it didn’t go away. It came back again. I had to go for another ablation, sit out for another couple of months.”

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The layoff didn’t work, Mtawarira suffering a third scare the night before a Springboks Test against Ireland in Dublin. “The Friday night it was back again. I remember breaking down and crying in front of our team manager Charles Wessels. I had to leave camp and was put on the next flight out and went for another ablation.

“It was pretty tough, but I remained faithful and after that third incident it never came back again. I was in the best shape ever, played some of my best rugby and was able to win a World Cup. It is a testimony of being faithful.”

Mtawarira, the so-called Beast, also spoke about his conversion to prop from back row in 2006, which altered the fortunes of his career, culminating in 117 Springboks appearances. “When I got scouted by the Sharks, I was a No8,” he continued. 

“My first year in the (Sharks) U20s I played back row. Swys de Bruin, our (U20s) coach at the time, tried to give me game time because he saw I was very explosive, got around the park and carried the ball very well. His philosophy was that he just needed guys who were hungry – even if you were out of position, don’t worry about it.

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“Dick Muir was the Sharks coach at the time. He said: ‘Beast, I see you progressing and becoming a star, but for you to do that I think you need to change position’. He [Muir] asked me to change to the front row. I wasn’t 100 per cent sold on the idea. People were suggesting it would take me a few years to master the technique.

“It was June 2006 and we were in the Currie Cup. He [Muir] asked me to drop out and go play some club rugby. Balie Swart took me under his wing. He made me move around with a note pad and write down all the information I needed to know to be a successful prop. I eventually bought into the idea.”

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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