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Thursday

14:00

Mtawarira posts new Genge message 18 months after critical tweet

By Liam Heagney

30 Sep 2022

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Former Springboks prop Tendai Mtawarira has welcomed Ellis Genge to the Roc Nation fold 18 months after he called the England front-rower out on Twitter for alleged foul play in a Guinness Six Nations match versus Ireland.

The March 2021 defeat for Eddie Jones’ team in Dublin was a depressing low for the English that was added to by the angry reaction online towards Genge after he seemed to use excessive force against the head of Johnny Sexton while on the ground under the posts at the Aviva Stadium.

Genge was ultimately exonerated in the eyes of the rugby judiciary as he wasn’t cited for the incident, but there was still much criticism online for his actions and it included a damning message from Mtawarira.

“This Ellis Genge dude needs to be dealt with properly,” he wrote in a post that retweeted the video footage of the damage inflicted on the prone Sexton, who was pinned to the ground and unable to defend himself.

The tweet by Mtawarira generated plenty of reaction but the incident has now ironically come back on him 18 months down the line as the former Springboks prop was used by Roc Nation to present the video welcoming Genge as their latest new rugby client.

England international. Bristol’s finest. The baby rhino. Welcome to the family @EllisGenge 💎 pic.twitter.com/k7yqtICEJc
— Roc Nation Sports International (@RocNationSI) September 29, 2022

The 70-second clip announcing the agency’s signing of Genge didn’t duck the past history between Mtawarira and the England player as it showed during the introduction segment the tweet from March 2021. “Hey, it’s the Beast here. I would like to introduce the newest member of the Roc Nation family. Ellis? Ellis Genge? Is that correct? I’m only kidding, brother. It’s all good, it’s all love. Ellis Genge, welcome to the Roc Nation family.”

Having earned the last of his 117 Springboks caps when beating England at the 2019 World Cup final in Yokohama, the now-retired 37-year-old Mtawarira is currently a businessman represented by Roc Nation who is said to be passionate about motivational speaking and outreach work. He was named in the Forbes Africa 2021 list of 100 most influential Africans.

Genge, meanwhile, has seen his profile grow immensely in the last year, thriving in his role as England vice-captain and skippering Leicester to Gallagher Premiership glory at Twickenham in June before joining Bristol, the 27-year-old’s hometown club where has made a massive try-scoring impact in recent home matches at Ashton Gate.

This Ellis Genge dude needs to be dealt with 🤨😤properly.. https://t.co/1JC9KelO7N
— Tendai Mtawarira (@Beast_TM) March 22, 2021

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