Tendai Mtawarira of the Sharks. Photo / Getty Images
So what do I call you? Tendai? The Beast? Mr Beast?
"Just call me Beast," booms Sharks cult figure Tendai Mtawarira, before bursting into a deep chuckle.
Beast, as he is universally known, is the Zimbabwe-born prop who has established himself as a huge fan favourite. A mobile
front rower, the 22-year-old provokes huge roars whenever he touches the ball in Durban. As well as being a pretty decent rugby player, Beast is widely regarded as a rather outstanding human. Fans and teammates love him. He has a deep but softly spoken voice. He laughs a lot. He likes to play guitar and sing gospel music. If anything, he's a little shy.
So how the heck did he get that nickname?
"Ha," he says, another rumbling chuckle building. "It was actually a nickname I got when I was about nine. I was a bit of a bully when I was a kid and it kind of stuck. It's kind of funny."
It sure has stuck. He is even listed as Beast in the official Super 14 media guide.
A converted flanker, Beast moved to South Africa to join the Sharks academy as an 18-year-old. Like most kids in soccer-mad Zimbabwe, soccer was his preferred sport.
"When I was a young boy in primary school I wanted to play for Manchester United. That was my dream. When I was about 10 a coach saw me stumbling around on the soccer field and told me I must change to rugby."
Cue more chuckling.
It turned out to be a pretty good call, with the 1.88m, 115kg prop now setting his sights on a Springboks call-up.
Another of his unbeastly qualities is a genuine modesty.
"Playing alongside [hooker] Bismark [Du Plessis] and [prop] BJ Botha is quite an honour so I am really enjoying it," he says of his own good form.
He's actually a pretty good guitar-player and singer, is he not?
"Ha, I love my gospel music. But actually [Tongan import] Epi Taione sings and plays the guitar much, much better than me."
So what about these Waratahs then? Are you going to finally release the Beast?
"Ha, we know that the Waratahs are in pretty good form. They are one of the best teams in the competition so we are up against it. It is a big challenge but we are very excited.
"We are going to give it everything."
