Kitshoff on his relationship with Beast and the battle with the Tongan Thor

Kitshoff on his relationship with Beast and the battle with the Tongan Thor

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has the pleasant selection headache ahead of picking a loosehead prop ahead of each test match.

The former Springbok flanker has the choice between test centurion Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira and the dynamic Steven Kitshoff with the duo rated amongst the best looseheads in the game.

Ahead of the Springboks test against the Wallabies Kitshoff spoke about his relationship with Mtawarira. So far coach Rassie Erasmus has managed this rivalry well, with the two players exchanging starting roles. 

The Stormers prop says that he is happy with his different roles and thankful to learn from the veteran.

“I’m just happy being in the mix every week. I think the competition between myself and Beast is very healthy and we push each other every week to become better players and scrummers,” Kitshoff said.


“He has been there and done that, he knows the game and the scrum back to front. So, he is someone I look up to when it comes to scrumming inspiration and his workload in the game is second to none. I learn a lot from him and it’s special to have someone like him in the mix.”


Kitshoff also commented on the Wallabies promising young tighthead prop Taniela Tupou. 

“He [Tupou] is a good tighthead and he has been playing great rugby for the Reds. Each tighthead in the Australian set-up has got his own unique style of scrumming and each one you have to take on with a new set of skills,” Kitshoff said this week.

“Doing our homework this week is going to be important because we don’t know what the team is going to look like. We need to be ready for everything that they throw at us.

“The Test was just a bit scrappy, and we didn’t really get the scrum going. This week it’s going to be important to stick to our structures and get our game plan going and make it a cleaner and better battle when it comes to set piece.”

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