Rugby World Cup 2019: South Africa prop Mtawarira retires from Rugby

South Africa prop Tendai Mtawarira has announced his retirement from international rugby following their Rugby World Cup victory last Saturday. Mtawarira is called 'The Beast’ by his fans and is the Springboks' most capped prop, having made 117 Test appearances. He also held the record of the Boks' third most capped player behind Victor Matfield and Bryan Habana.

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During his time, he also won a Tri-Nations championship and a Rugby Championship for his country. He made his Sharks debut in 2006 and went on to receive his first Springboks cap against Wales two years later. Mtawarira has the most appearances amongst South Africans in Super Rugby with a tally of 159, all of which he made for the Sharks.

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He played for the Springboks for more than a decade. During his time, he won two Southern Hemisphere titles, a series against the British and Irish Lion and the Rugby World Cup in his last Test, just about everything a Springboks player hopes to win in his career.

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South Africa Rugby President Mark Alexander stated that 'The Beast' is someone who never complained, always put in the hard work and simply got on with his job in his typically unassuming way and that’s what people liked about him.

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Mtawarira was phenomenal in the World Cup

Mtawarira was a standout performer as his side beat England 32-12 after winning a number of scrum penalties to lift the Webb Ellis trophy.