Old Glory on December 17 teased their fans with a big announcement. There was a lot of speculation and debate as all it said on their social media posts was "A Champion Comes To The District Of Champions." Some theorized the player was from South Africa as they had just won the Rugby World Cup, others thought the player was from the reigning Major League Rugby champion Seattle Seawolves, while there were some who expected it was a player from either Super Rugby, Top 14, Pro 14, or the Premiership. With the anticipation building, the club finally announced the signing on December 18th as the team will be bringing in star South African forward Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira.
This is arguably the biggest signing that has been made by an MLR side since it's inception in 2018, but this will improve the front row for Old Glory significantly. Mtawarira gets his nickname of "Beast" because of his overpowering charges, his incredible scrummaging skills and power, big build, and is arguably one of the strongest forwards in the sport. "Beast" had been crushing defenders and ball carriers since 2006 when he joined the Sharks of Super Rugby and has been a main fixture at loosehead prop for South Africa since 2008. For the Sharks, Mtawarira had made 160 appearances, the most by any South African player in Super Rugby. At the national level, he has made 117 appearances for the Springboks, the third most in South African history, including 14th most for an international forward and fifth among props. He's also played for the Barbarians. For the Springboks, he had helped his country to win multiple Tri Nations/The Rugby Championship titles and a Rugby World Cup trophy in 2019. He had just retired from international play after winning the World Cup.
There is no doubt that "Beast" will be named on gamedays, but it would seem likely that he will be the starting loosehead prop. The team also has Jake Turnbull and Max Lum as loosehead props, so it will be interesting how they will be used. Lum is versatile as he can play at hooker, but he probably should get some time at both tighthead and loosehead either as a replacement or the occasional start. Turnbull's primary position is loosehead, but he is one of the top front row players in the MLR, so he could shift over to tighthead and start there with Gordon Fullerton serving as a replacement to him, though Fullerton can play as a loosehead as well. Mtawarira might come on as a replacement on occasion, but is very likely to be the starter. That being said, with him signed on, it will be interesting how head coach Andrew Douglas will utilize his options at both prop positions. "Beast" also brings a wealth of experience which will be critical in the scrum and in the first season in the MLR. The team said about Mtawarira in their press release as "His dominance of the scrum has recently earned him a reputation for 'ruining the careers' of opposing tighthead props at the highest levels of the sport." It will seem likely that "Beast" will do exactly that to opposing tightheads in the MLR.
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