IT’S SEVEN YEARS since Tendai Mtawarira put in one of the most explosive scrummaging performances in test rugby, obliterating Phil Vickery – a genuine propping great – in the first Lions test of 2009.
What’s frightening about it is that ‘The Beast’ was arguably still just a pup. Seven years on and he’s 30-years-old, but rarely takes a backwards step. When you consider his likely opposite this weekend will be Mike Ross, 36 and not out, it’s arguable that Mtawarira’s got enough gas in the tank to go on for at least another half decade.
While some props out there are often just as destructive, few if any can claim to do it with the legality of Mtawarira.
He very rarely bores in or drops binds, concentrating more on inch-perfect technique: head at hip height with all the power coming through his legs.
When Ireland and South Africa last met in November 2014, the South Africans were dominant, and it was mostly down to Mtawarira’s individual battle with Mike Ross, which they’ll renew this Saturday.
In the example below, Mtawarira is at the far side of the scrum and isn’t visible, but we can see just how much ground he gains on Ross before Ireland collapse.
Also take note of the South African scrum as a collective, and how they time their drive to perfection, pushing off their legs in unison.
This scrum from the second half gives a much better view of Mtawarira and Ross, and just how good the Springbok’s technique is.
First, we’ll watch it through in full. Ireland fail to get a strike on the feed, and it rolls all the way across to the far side, in between Ross and Mtawarira, and the latter walks right over the ball and claims it.
The important thing to note is his body position.
Here is how he positions himself initially. His head is in line with his hips, which are bent at 90 degrees, and around 120 degree of a bend at the back of his knees.
However, the vital part is that as he pushes through Ross, he maintains that exact body position throughout.
Sometimes, when one prop is dominant over another, it can be difficult to control your angle, and your speed. Often times it causes a collapse or leads to an angled drive. However, everything about this is controlled. He maintains his drive parallel to the ground, and keeps his head on the outside.
And it wasn’t a once off. This is an example from the first half of that game, shot from the stand.
Once again, the technique is perfect. We can see how he’s resisting the urge to bore in, staying on the outside of Ross, and driving straight, with his head at hip height.
Ross will have to be on form this weekend, because in the 19 or so months since that game, The Beast hasn’t changed much.
Quick ball will be key. Hanging around in the scrum can lead to trouble, and while the Irish scrum is quite good, they can’t take any chances. If they’re close to their own goal, retaining possession is the number one priority.
In the example below we can see how Australia did it in last year’s Rugby Championship. Despite the speed of their ball retention here, the Springboks and Mtawarira in particular drove them back several yards.
Had Scott Higginbotham not done as well as he did in fishing the ball out of a retreating scrum, Australia could have been in deep trouble.
Once again, The Beast’s angles, and height are impeccable. As we can see, not only is he driving straight, but he’s got such good core strength that he can get incredibly low, and under Sekope Kepu.
The following week against New Zealand, South Africa had real dominance, and although Jannie Du Plessis was the key man, Mtawarira never put a foot wrong
This effort was the most impressive, marching back Ben Franks, who had only been on the pitch for five minutes.
And his angles were as consistent as ever.
It’s something that looks remarkably simple, but is so difficult to master. We saw more of it in the World Cup.
In this clip, Wales do very well to retain possession, with Samson Lee driven back several yards by Mtawarira.
Again, we can see how his initial position is perfect.
And he maintains that position throughout the drive. While power is obviously important, doing the basics well on a consistent basis is vital.
In the World Cup semi-final, the South African scrum gave New Zealand great difficulty, and the Beast was a crucial part in that.
Owen Franks couldn’t cope with him for this first-half scrum, which led to a South African penalty.
It also shows a trend where they attack diagonally to the left, getting their tighthead to attack the gap between the opposition hooker and loosehead, while their own loosehead drives straight. Jack McGrath needs to be ready for Malherbe squeezing him in.
In the overhead, we can see how Franks almost disappears for a second before reemerging, and it’s at this point that Mtawarira’s dominance tells.
On the traditional camera angle we can see the point that Franks collapses.
However, because Mtawarira’s core strength is so good, he’s able to stay on his feet long enough to hammer home the advantage. Rather than just bellyflop in on top of him, he continues scrummaging until his dominance is recognised by Jerome Garces.
Later in the game, he was the key man in the Springboks turning over a scrum just outside their own 22.
With Frans Malherbe anchoring them, and Mtawarira going on the attack, they turned the All Blacks 90 degrees, and gained the put-in for themselves.
While the introduction of the new scrum laws mean that if it were to happen tomorrow, New Zealand would still keep possession for the next scrum, it’s very impressively done, and on another day could have been a penalty, with so many All Blacks disengaging the scrum.
With Jerome Kaino in the sin bin, New Zealand are automatically at a disadvantage, and with no flanker behind Franks to drive, Mtawarira takes advantage.
This shot shows how they set up initially, with the red line marking the centrepoint of the scrum. This will become more relevant as the scrum develops.
And when Aaron Smith feeds the scrum, Mtawarira starts to work Franks, getting a nudge on him. Malherbe holds his spot, which acts as an anchor, causing the scrum to nudge up.
By this stage, Mtawarira has advanced the scrum forward through its axis by about 30 degrees.
Eventually, they continue to drive, and Mtawarira gains further and further ground on Franks, causing it to wheel further, eventually moving forward by 90 degrees, resulting in a turnover, and a Springbok feed to the next scrum.
It’s also worth noting the body positions of both Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth.
Both are driving quite straight, rather than at an angle to their props, which would cause them to jack-knife, and is usually a tell-tale sign of a whip.
Stopping the Beast is now harder than ever though. With Victor Matfield’s retirement paving the way for the monstrous de Jager to start more regularly, you now have an extra 15kg of weight coming through Mtawarira, putting a lot of pressure on the Irish second row to help out their props.
However, the older Mike Ross gets, the more he has proven himself to be a very canny operator in the scrum, and a deep thinker about how to play.
After some poor displays at the tail end of 2014, he rediscovered himself in 2015, and seemed to attack his opponents less, concentrating more on providing a stable base.
Stability is all Ireland need on Saturday. Anything more would be a bonus. Anything less could mean trouble.
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