TENDAI “Beast” Mtawarira will earn his 100th Test cap tomorrow, becoming only the sixth South African to do so when the Springboks take on England in their second Test in Bloemfontein (5.05pm).
It will be a massive moment for the 32-year-old, who will become the first black South African, and first prop, to reach that milestone.
Here, Sport24 looks at the five men who came before the “Beast” and examine how their 100th Test cap turned out.
1. VICTOR MATFIELD (127 Tests)
28 August 2010: SA 44-31 Australia (Pretoria)
Matfield, South Africa’s most capped player ever, started his 100th Test on his home patch at Loftus alongside Flip van der Merwe in the second row.
The Boks were too good for the Wallabies that day, running in five tries to secure victory in front of the fans that loved Matfield most.
Matfield was his usual dominant self in the lineouts, while he also chipped in with nine tackles.
2. BRYAN HABANA (124 Tests)
6 September 2014: Australia 24-23 SA (Perth)
Habana’s 100th Test for the Boks could have ended so differently. The Boks, through six Morne Steyn penalties and a try from Cornal Hendricks, led the Aussies 23-17 going into the final 10 minutes. But a late Rob Horne try won it for the hosts.
The interesting thing about that try is that it came with the Boks down to 14 men after Habana himself had been yellow-carded in the 65th minute.
3. JOHN SMIT (111 Tests)
21 August 2010: SA 22-29 NZ (Johannesburg)
Smit, like Habana, had a cruel end to his milestone match. The Boks were up by five and on course for a famous win heading into the final five minutes, but two late All Black tries stunned Smit and the Ellis Park crowd.
Smit dropped to one knee in disbelief after the final whistle was blown, and as his wife and kids took to the field to join him for what should have been a celebration, the disappointment on his face was there for all to see.
4. JEAN DE VILLIERS (109 Tests)
13 September 2014: NZ 14-10 SA (Wellington)
It was always going to be a tough ask for the Boks to give De Villiers a 100th Test win, but they did put up a fight to be proud of. The Boks went into half-time with a 7-6 lead thanks to a Cornal Hendricks try, but they fell just short in a gruelling second half.
De Villiers, playing in the No 12 jersey, left everything out on the park as he threw himself into tackles and made 12 runs for the Boks.
5. PERCY MONTGOMERY (102 Tests)
16 August 2008: SA 0-19 NZ (Cape Town)
South Africa’s all-time leading points scorer couldn’t get on the board at all on his big day. The Boks were outplayed in every department.
Montgomery was poor, missing two kickable penalties to get the Boks moving, and he was replaced before the hour mark.
He was the first Bok to reach 100 Tests, but how that Test unfolded will not be something that he savours.
