Beast

Tendai Mtawarira

Description

Tendai Mtawarira is known throughout the rugby world simply as Beast. Or, more often than not, ‘Beeeaaassssttt!’, as crowds from Durban to London, Buenos Aires to Auckland cry whenever he gets the ball. In 2018 he became the most capped prop in Springbok history, earning his 100th Test cap for the Springboks, and in 2019 he became the most capped Super Rugby player in South Africa.

Due to play in his third World Cup in September 2019, Beast has been in a winning series against the British and Irish Lions, contested two Super Rugby finals and won three Currie Cups with his beloved Sharks. Along the way, he has been moved from back row to front row, bullied by xenophobic politicians and undergone three bouts of heart surgery. Beast is the story of how a humble man from Zimbabwe has become a rugby icon.

Sujets

• Histoire du sport
• Autres sports
• Afrique du Sud
• Sport
• Anglais
• General
• English
• Recreation
• General officer
• South Africa
• Republic of South Africa
• Idioma inglés
• Sports

Informations

• Publié par: Pan Macmillan South Africa
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781770106543
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Beast
Tendai Mtawarira
with Andy Capostagno
MACMILLAN

First published in 2019
by Pan Macmillan South Africa
Private Bag X19
Northlands
Johannesburg
2116
www.panmacmillan.co.za
ISBN 978-1-77010-653-6
e-ISBN 978-1-77010-654-3
© 2019 Andy Capostagno
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Editing by Sean Fraser
Proofreading by Wesley Thompson
Indexing by Christopher Merrett
Design and typesetting by Triple M Design, Johannesburg
Cover design by publicide
Cover and author photographs by Steve Haag


Contents
About the Author
Preface
Chapter 1 : Born Hungry
Chapter 2 : A Peterhouse Boy
Chapter 3 : Swimming with Sharks
Chapter 4 : Back to Front
Chapter 5 : So Near and Yet So Far
Chapter 6 : From a Shark to a Bok
Chapter 7 : The Crest of a Wave
Chapter 8 : Man Overboard
Chapter 9 : The Darkest Hour
Chapter 10 : Beauty and the Beast
Chapter 11 : Doctor, I’m in Trouble
Chapter 12 : Defending the Cup
Chapter 13 : Broken Bones and Time Zones
Chapter 14 : Meet the Family
Chapter 15 : Too Many Coaches Spoil the Sharks
Chapter 16 : The 2015 World Cup
Chapter 17 : Being the Beast
Chapter 18 : Life after Rugby
Chapter 19 : My Dream Team
Acknowledgements
Picture Section


About the Author

Andy Capostagno has been talking about Beast for 17 years. Best known for his rugby, cricket and hockey commentary with SuperSport, Andy was also the rugby correspondent for the Mail & Guardian for a quarter of a century. Beast is his fifth book, following Jonty in Picture s; Memorable Moments in One-Day Cricket ; Fancourt: The Road to the Presidents Cup and Ystervarkrivier: A Slice of Life .


Preface
Summer is clinging on tight in Durban. It’s 34 degrees and uncomfortable in a way that only Durban can be. They say the suicide rate triples in the city in January and February and even the palm trees seem sick of the enervating mix of heat and humidity. Rugby, as it was conceived by William Webb Ellis and his colleagues at Rugby School, was not meant to be played in this weather. But out on the training field next to Kings Park, the Sharks players are being put through their paces by the coaching staff.
Among the rising Springbok stars such as S’bu Nkosi and Thomas du Toit, the hero of our story plies his trade, hitting tackle bags, straining the giant rubber bands with his power and casting an experienced eye over the youngsters. Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira is not far short of his 34th birthday, but he looks a decade younger.
He has broad shoulders and a narrow waist, attributes that are usually reversed in prop forwards at club level. His massive thighs and biceps speak of a life spent in the gym, while his jutting black beard softens the contours of his lantern jaw. There is a burning intensity to his gaze, but he smiles broadly and laughs easily.
Beast is coming to the end of a remarkable career. Along the way he has amassed more than a century of Test caps, fought off the xenophobia of small-minded politicians and, thanks to his extraordinary longevity in Super Rugby, had an entire Sharks campaign named after him. He has been in three Currie Cup-winning Sharks sides, two Super Rugby finals and a World Cup semi-final. In September 2019 he will embark on his third World Cup with the Springboks, hoping to go one better than the third-place finish at the 2015 tournament.
It must all seem a little surreal for the humble man from Harare, whose prodigious rugby talent sent him around the rugby-playing world, hearing his name roared by crowds from Auckland to London. In this book he speaks for himself, although you’ll have to imagine the deep baritone speaking voice, a mixture of Johnny Cash and Paul Robeson. Where necessary I have added some explanation and quoted his family, friends and a clutch of great players who campaigned with and against him over the years.
In all my research and interviews one thing stands out above all else: no one has a bad word to say about Beast. He is universally respected as a rugby player and admired as a human being. I hope you enjoy his story.
Andy Capostagno
Lidgetton
September 2019


Chapter 1
Born Hungry
My name is Tendai, which in the Shona language means ‘Be thankful to God’, but you can call me Beast. Apart from my family, everyone calls me Beast. I’ve been Beast since I was nine years old. I had a group of friends at primary school and the leader was a guy by the name of Kuda. He and I grew up in the same neighbourhood, playing soccer in the street, and we would see each other every day. He was my best friend and in the same class as me and I used to look up to him as a role model. One day he decided that I needed a nickname and everybody put their heads together. At one stage they called me ‘Monster’ and there were a few other names as well, but the one that stuck was ‘Beast’. Wherever I play rugby, when I get the ball the crowd cries, ‘Beeaasssttt!’ so I guess I’m stuck with it!
My mum’s name is Bertha and her family name is Kuhlengisa. My dad is Felix Mtawarira. My mum reminds me every second day what I was like as a child. I was a big baby. I weighed in at five kilos when I was born, which probably made me the biggest baby in Zimbabwe. So my mum had to endure the pain of that, and I was her first born, although I do have an older brother on my dad’s side. She told me I had a huge appetite and as soon as they could, they had to supplement milk with solids.
My hunger grew and grew and when my younger brother Ray came along four years later, I used to eat his food as well. My mum is a great cook and she used to make a fantastic beef stew. When I go home to Zimbabwe now, that’s the first thing she cooks for me. So my dad had to work hard just so they could feed me. He worked as a property manager for ZFC for 15 years and as a result of that he was able to give me the best start in life. We weren’t rich and we weren’t poor, we were in between. We had a roof over our heads and there was never a day in my life that I went without food.
My dad liked to remind me about Zimbabwe’s fight for independence. They were recruiting young men to go fight in the uprising. He was a young adult at the time and his family didn’t want him to get involved in the bush war, so they sent him away to study. I guess you could say he was a nerd! His family name was Mtawarira, but his clan name was Simbirori, which is the Shona name for a Fish Eagle. The Fish Eagle is a really strong bird, so when I was growing up I was reminded all the time that the Simbirori are strong; we don’t back down from anything.
My dad was a good tennis player and also a Chelsea supporter, whereas I’ve always been a Manchester United fan, but I think my sporting genes come more from my mum’s side of the family. She was a good netball player and her cousins were all good at sport. One of them was a particularly good rugby player who went to Peterhouse. My mum’s genes have also helped my metabolism. I have been hungry my whole life, but no matter how much I ate it never turned to fat. I lived on huge amounts of sadza, or mealie pap, as it’s known in South Africa. Sadza was what we ate every day at home. Maybe on Sunday we might eat rice, but that was all.
My dad expected a lot from us, and discipline was a big thing around the house. Unfortunately, I didn’t like being disciplined and I was up and down all over the place. I used to give my mum headaches, and my dad thought I was going to be a rebel. I was strong and although they tried to discipline me I would fight the system.
My primary school was Prospect, which is in an area called Waterfalls in Harare. I was aggressive at Prospect, even with my mates. Not to put too fine a point on it, I was a bit of a bully and it’s not something I’m proud of. Now I spend time in schools talking to kids about the negative effects of bullying; I guess I’m trying to make amends.
Kuda has always claimed that since he was the one who came up with my nickname, I should pay him royalties! He lives in Namibia now and works in marketing for one of the big companies there. We’re still in touch and he got married last year. Tafadzwa was another of our group and he was quite smart, so we called him ‘Brainiac’ because he had the mind of a computer. He kind of disappeared off the radar after we left primary school, though.
I’m not sure where the name Beast came from, but we were all superhero fans, so maybe it came from The Beast in the X-Men. My favourite superhero was Captain Planet and I remember rushing home to catch his show on TV. Nowadays, of course, my favourite is Black Panther. I think black people have been misrepresented over the years in superhero movies and the reason Black Panther is so successful is that he represents excellence and so black people connect with him. Now I have a bit of a Black Panther connection, because the South African Super Rugby franchises campaigned under the Marvel banner in 2019 and the Sharks kit was based on Black Panther.
Once the boys dubbed me Beast it caught on quickly, probably because it suited my personality. Now, remember, at this time rugby wasn’t yet part of my life. I was still playing soccer as a goalkeeper, but not a very good one. I used to try to spread myself as wide as possible and hope for the best, but I had a dream to play for Liverpool – Bruce Gro