BEAST IN TEAM OF THE DECADE

…Zimbabwean rugby legend Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira has been named in the World Rugby 15’s Team of the Decade

By Ray Munyoro

Tendai Mtawarira aka Beast, has made history, being named among the crème-de-la-crème of the world of rugby as part of the Special Edition Awards held on Monday evening.
Mtawarira, who retired from Test rugby after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, was named in the team together with other Springboks Rugby World Cup winners, Bismarck du Plessis and Bryan Habana.
The World Rugby Awards Special Edition celebrated members of the rugby family who have provided outstanding service during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as players and teams who have starred over the last decade in a virtual show.
Instead of the traditional awards celebrating performances on the pitch in 2020, supporters had the opportunity to vote for their six favourite Players and Tries of the Decade awards, with the World Rugby Awards’ star-studded panel given the difficult task of selecting two Teams of the Decade.
South Africa Rugby Union president Mark Alexander congratulated the trio for the feat.
“On behalf of the entire South African rugby fraternity, I would like to congratulate all our Springboks who featured in the World Rugby Awards tonight,” said Alexander.
“Beast, Bismarck and Bryan always gave everything they had for the Springbok jersey and were great ambassadors for our wonderful country. Their inclusion in the Team of the Decade is great reward for their consistently high level of performance in the green and gold,” he added.
There was also special recognition for Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and his colleagues for their fundraising efforts through the #StrongerTogether for R32-12 campaign, which raised more than R1 million for hunger alleviation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“To Siya and the Boks of 2019, well done on a great effort to help raise funds for those less fortunate who were hit very hard because of the pandemic earlier this year – we are all very proud of your efforts.
“Congratulations to our other nominees, too, from the Blitzboks and the Springboks, for always giving their all when representing South Africa on rugby fields around the globe,” said Alexander.
Mtawarira was born in Zimbabwe and played 117 times for the Springboks, becoming an icon in South African rugby.
The 35-year-old became the first black South African to play a century of Tests for the Springboks when he passed the margin in June 2019.
He was a key member of the 2019 World Cup team that won gold in Japan.
Mtawarira was also, last year, named in the Sharks Team of the decade following a successful career with the Durban outfit where he got a massive 159 Vodacom Super Rugby caps.
Mtawarira joined the Sharks’ senior team in 2006 and went on to become the most-capped Vodacom Super Rugby player in South African rugby history when he surpassed Adriaan Strauss’ record of 156 appearances earlier this year.
The Beast spent 13 years with the Sharks before deciding to wind off his club career in the American Major League. Nhau/Indaba