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Tue 29 May 2012 | 09:27
The Beast's power saves Anton Bresler from disaster, twice

14
Comments

Beast Mtawarira showed where he gets his name from on Saturday as he saved Anton Bresler from hitting the turf not once, but twice. It's not the first time he's done it either, as he did the same thing with Keegan Daniel last year.

Since the weekend a video of this has gone seriously viral. It was picked up by sports websites around the world, including the US, and has racked up some high viewership numbers.

What that particular clip failed to show is that the Springbok prop actually did this twice in ten minutes, bringing a whole new meaning to the term Beast mode.

The second time wasn't quite as eyecatching, but it was another example of his phenomenal strength, lifting a holding a man his bodyweight behind his back by the shorts.

How those things didn't rip, we'll never know.

Sharks lock Ross Skeate, who incidentally is moving to France to join Agen, told us that while other props have been known to do the same thing from time to time, Beast's incredible strength allows the jumpers to reach even further, which in this case resulted in some spectacular play.

We're still waiting to receive the footage of Victor Matfield and Rob Kempson having a go at it.

Watch the Keegan Daniel save, including some great pics, here

Posted By: Grant Constable

14 Comments

  • pretzel
    12:02 AM 31/05/2012

    I'd have thought there would be some concern for the boots of the lifter swinging about in the air like that... I am unaware of any "boot laws" as such, but not having proper control of a jumper should surely be something for the referee's to bare in mind in these sorts of situations...

  • cheyanqui
    1:20 PM 30/05/2012

    Stroudos,

    Regarding your suggestion of simply lifting someone and carrying them down the field:

    In a lineout situation, that is expressly prohibited by Law 19.10(g).

    In other situations, (general play, kickoffs, restarts): whilst there is no law governing lifts in these siutations, referees would likely manage your suggestion away on two points:
    1. Fair Play / Unsportsmanlike Play. Laws 10.2(a) and 10.4(m) give the referee some latitude to manage teams playing against the spirit of the laws. Keeping a player up in the air only for the purposes of making him and the ball off limits could easily be construed as an act of unfair play or an act contrary to good sportsmanship.
    and
    2. Safety. Law 19.10(g) is there for the safety of the jumper. As this is a similar situation, the referee would logically endeavor to play the match safely in general play as well.

    Law References:
    Law 19.10(g): "Lowering a Player. Players who support a jumping team-mate must lower that player to the ground as soon as the ball has been won by a player. Sanction: Penalty Kick"
    Law 10.2(a): "Intentionally Offending. A player must not intentionally infringe any Law of the Game, or play unfairly. The player who intentionally offends must be either admonished, or cautioned that a send off will result if the offence or a similar offence is committed, or sent off. Sanction: Penalty kick"
    Law 10.4(m): "Acts contrary to good sportsmanship. A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship in the playing enclosure. Sanction: Penalty kick."

  • guy
    11:16 PM 29/05/2012

    Great strenght for the lift and holding the player up in the air.

    Lousy positioning for the catch of the ball. Three times is no coincidence...

    But then again: great entertainment value.

  • barryt
    10:13 PM 29/05/2012

    not last year for the lions tour, last time!

  • barryt
    10:10 PM 29/05/2012

    incredible strength, but its asking for trouble, i know the opposition let the beast bring him down, but all it takes is one winger or someone to come flying in and contest for the ball in the air and knock him off balance and we could have a broken neck on our hands, prevention rather the wait for an accident to happen? I'd say make it that the jumper has to have 2 lifters rather then 1. On the other hand, there probably isn't a player in world rugby that can do that so its quite unique!

    Again, serious strength from the beast, no wonder he made a holy show of the vickery on the lions tour last year, he's an absolute freak!

  • ollie
    8:23 PM 29/05/2012

    Looks like the opposition actually actively help rotate Daniel back the right way up. If so then that's great sportsmanship from them too.

  • vir2ose
    7:32 PM 29/05/2012

    After watching it once more, it seems that he's always too close from his mate. The second time (only 10 minutes after) he looks very tired and doesn't stretch his arms out. I don't know him but to me it looks like he lacks stamina.

  • moddeur
    7:27 PM 29/05/2012

    Excellent idea!!
    Another question, is it illegal to climb on another player's shoulders? If not then surely a two-week training with the Shanghai Gymnastic Club would help the Sharks form a human tower (with the Beast and the Du Plessis brothers at the bottom) to prevent their opponent's converted kicks from going through the posts.

  • vir2ose
    7:21 PM 29/05/2012

    "Whoop whoop! That's the sound of the beast!"
    I've been looking for the old clip for months without success. Guess I have to thank Beast to keep spending hours at the gym to reproduce this and thus bringing it back to the top.
    However, as stated by someone else above me, he needs to work on his lifting technique: he doesn't control the player's weight and puts him in danger.
    You've done enough gym to try to slow down the move pal!

  • pretzel
    7:16 PM 29/05/2012

    Good job Bresler had his shorts done up tightly....

  • welshosprey
    5:04 PM 29/05/2012

    Bet this guy is a machine in the gym

  • mise
    4:30 PM 29/05/2012

    sounds like a plan stroudos.......

  • 4:24 PM 29/05/2012

    Does this move usually pay off? beacause more times than not, I have heard of the lifted players being neally dropped on thier heads, i.e. Keegan Daniel. Wouldnt it be much easier just to comit two men to the lift on either side of the jumper rather than just one?

    However in saying this, it is a great individual piece of strength from the beast.

    Would have liked to see Andrew Sheridan try this lift. As in my opinion he is the only other prop in the world that is strong enought to do so, apart from the beast of course.

  • stroudos
    3:52 PM 29/05/2012

    Just saw this on another site and at first thought "they've taken their time getting hold of that Keegan Daniel moment"! Looks like this is becoming a trademark move!

    Here's a suggestion for Beast and the Sharks management. Given that you can't tackle someone in the air, why not send a lighter bloke up, Beast holds him above his head and jogs all the way to the other end of the pitch. The way he throws second rowers about, I'm quite sure he could carry a wing above his head for the 60 or so metres required.

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