Tendai, affectionately known as “Beast” due to his physical approach to the game and gets roared by spectators and fans of the Sharks whenever Mtawarira attains possession of the ball or makes a big tackle. This not only echoes around our beloved Shark’s tank but in stadiums across world making him a crowd favourite wherever he plays.
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Mtawarira has made his name playing for Natal and the Sharks After a fantastic 2008 Super 14 season with the Sharks it was apparent that he had fantastic potential. Due to this he was rewarded with a springbok call-up in 2008 and made his debut in the 37-21 victory over Wales in Pretoria. His second cap came the following weekend against Italy in Cape Town where he scored his first international try on his way to the man of the match honour.
Despite the fact he has qualified for South Africa by completing the three year residency criteria, Mtawarira remains a Zimbabwean national. And that fact caused huge controversy in 2009 when the South African sports ministry claimed that Mtawarira was not actually qualified to represent the Springboks due to the fact he was not citizen of the country. SA Rugby defended his selection insisting he had been granted an “exceptional skills” visa and continued to select him during the Springboks’ end of year tour of Europe but the debate surrounding his selection continued into 2010.
A hereditary heart condition (now under control) caused the beast to miss three Tests in November 2012 because. He suffers from irregular heart palpitations and underwent surgery in Cape Town to rectify the condition.
He has represented the Sharks in Super Rugby 88 times, scoring 10 points in the process via two tries. He also has 35 Currie Cup caps and 15 points in total in that competition.
| FULL NAME | Tendai |
| SURNAME | Mtawarira |
| HEIGHT | 183 cm |
| WEIGHT | 115 Kg |
| BIRTH DATE | 01 August 1985 |
| BIRTH PLACE | Harare |
| MARITIAL STATUS | Married |
| FAVOURITE FILM | Friday Night Lights |
| FAVOURITE MUSIC | Seal |
| FAVOURITE FOOD | Pasta, Seafood |
| PRIMARY SCHOOL | Prospect Primary |
| SECONDARY SCHOOL | Peterhouse, Zimbabwe |
(info was gathered from www.sharksrugby.co.za , www.sarugby.co.za and Wikipedia)
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I love the Beast, what a awesome ambassador for Rugby. He is one of the most loved Boks by kids…we had a event about a year ago about heroes like super heroes superman batman, most Stellenbosch kids said there hero is Beast…loved it!!
BEEEEEAAAAAST!!!!!!!!!!
The oak is a champ, always has a smile
Top player. Top guy. One of my favourite rugby players. Go Beast! Thanks for setting an example for younger kids.
Great player. And seems an even greater human being.
One of my all-time favourites.
Seems a helluva nice guy, good players and form crowd favourite.
But, lets be honest, he’s no Brok Harris…
@VinChainSaw (Comment 6) : Thank God!
@Tintin (Comment 3) : That or a growl when he annihilates the opposition scrum.
du Plessis brothers next?
Pure class player
Brok who? Come on!
Wonderfull player good man
Good player and all round nice guy – Beast is Boss
😉
Beast weighs 121kg’s these days
@Saffex (Comment 13) : Thanks I will make note of that. I can only find info stating he is between 115kg and 118kg
@The Hobbit (Comment 14) : That’s the weight given when the Boks played their home tests earlier this year