Beast Mtawarira Explains How the Springboks Turned Their Scrum Into a Feared Weapon
- The Springboks' feared scrum underwent a significant change in mentality during their preparations for the 2019 Rugby World Cup
- A former Springbok coach is credited with helping turn the set-piece into a major weapon
- The Beast has also explained how competition between the starting XV and the Bomb Squad raised standards
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Tendai 'The Beast' Mtawarira has credited former Springbok scrum coach Matthew Proudfoot with helping transform South Africa's scrum into one of the most feared weapons in international rugby. The former prop believes a change in mentality played a major role in the team's set-piece dominance.
Mtawarira, who played a key role in South Africa's 2019 Rugby World Cup triumph, discussed the transformation during an interview with Squidge Rugby. He explained how the team's approach evolved from simply seeking an advantage at scrum time to actively targeting penalties and pressuring opponents.
Matthew Proudfoot's role in transforming the Springbok scrum
Mtawarira said the Springboks had always valued scrummaging, but the desire to dominate every engagement became more pronounced under Proudfoot, who took responsibility for the team's scrums in 2018.
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"The scrum culture has changed over the years. We've always had a huge scrummaging culture, an ethos within us that we want to dominate, but it wasn't really emphasised," Mtawarira said, SA Rugby Magazine.
He continued:
"I have got to give credit to Matthew Proudfoot, who came in and he just took the scrum from being a place where we just wanted to get some sort of ascendancy to being a place where we want to actually inflict pain on the opposition."
He added that the objective became securing the maximum possible reward from every engagement.
"Every single scrum we want to get the maximum result. We want to get a penalty. That was our attitude for every single scrum," he explained.
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Daan Human and the Bomb Squad competition
The former Springbok also praised current scrum coach Daan Human for building on the foundations Proudfoot established.
Mtawarira highlighted the competition between starting front-row players and their replacements, including Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Frans Malherbe, Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi.
He recalled:
"The guys that start the game and the Bomb Squad push each other."
He also explained that Rassie Erasmus made every player's contribution equally important, whether they started or came off the bench.
How Springbok training raised standards
Mtawarira said the competition during training sessions was so intense that Test matches sometimes felt easier by comparison.
"The intensity was so high that when you got to a Test match, it actually felt too easy," he said.
The Beast's comments offer insight into the coaching philosophy and internal competition that helped shape the Springboks' powerful forward pack.
Nick Mallett raises concerns over Springboks' hooker depth ahead of November Tests
Briefly News previously reported that former Springbok coach Nick Mallett had questioned Rassie Erasmus' decision to select only two specialist hookers in his 37-man squad for the November internationals.
Mallett believes the lack of cover could leave South Africa exposed if injuries affect the position during their European campaign.
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Source: Briefly News
