Sharks player Tendai Mtawarira is well-known in the rugby world as “Beast”, for obvious reasons. However, the marvelous brute is quickly earning international cult status for an immense feat of strength following a weekend clash with the Stormers.

On Saturday the Stormers met the Sharks on the latter’s home ground, The Shark Tank, in Durban. It was pretty run of the mill stuff until about midway into the first half when Mtawarira hulked-out and lifted Anton Bresler clean over his shoulders, and then managed to flip him back again. Anton Bresler weighs 112kg. Just lifting that weight above your head is difficult enough as is, so when it’s a person flailing and flopping around one can only imagine the immense strength it requires to hold them behind your head. By their shorts. Just check out the look on Jannie Du Plessis’ face, pure horror, with a hint of jealousy. I bet he wished he klapped it as hard as Beast in the gym.

It wasn’t only die-hard rugby fans who took note though, since it happened we’ve found the video and story posted on several prominent international sites including Deadspin, Last Angry Fan, Reddit, Bleacher Report, and even a random Spanish site called mundoD!

Beast does what any honest, hyperstrong rugby player would do in a situation when a teammate becomes temporarily gravity-free, and is in danger of returning to earth. Tendai Mtawarira hoists the teammate up by his clothing, behind his head, and protects him from certain self-wreckage while opponents stare on in a sort of trance. – Deadspin

From the land of things I don’t understand comes an unexplainable feat of amazing strength. This, my friends, is true beast mode. – Bleacher Report

The more I watch rugby highlights the more and more impressed I am with the players. These guys are unbelievable athletes. – Reddit comment

Rugby players are hulking men who are some of the toughest S.O.B.s on the planet because the game itself is a rough and tumble affair with players wearing not a stitch of protective clothing…Prepare to be amazed… – Last Angry Fan

Finally, rugby is being recognised as the last remaining legitimate sport for real men! Seriously though, the amount of coverage this is getting on the interwebs is actually amazing. Almost all of the above sites are from the USA., a place that doesn’t seem to regard rugby very highly on their list of competitive sports, yet here we have Beast making the front page on almost all of those sites! I guess men being beasts has global appeal.

Hit us up in the comments if you make any more sightings in the wild.

Well done Beast, you’ve done us proud! Oh, the Sharks won, in case you were wondering.

[Source: YouTube, Deadspin, Last Angry Fan, Reddit, Bleacher Report, mundoD]