Who says size matters? Not Cardiff scrum-half Johan Mulder as the South African number nine epically put his former teammate Asenathi Ntlabakanye into reverse.

Seemingly out to make a statement against his fellow countrymen, the 25-year-old landed the massive hit in the 20th minute of the United Rugby Championship clash between Cardiff and the Lions on Friday evening.

Big man put into reverse!

Ntlabakanye was caught unawares when his scrum-half Nico Steyn popped the ball to him and had little time to gather some momentum before the giant slayer number nine pounced.

Mulder quickly wrapped up the tighthead prop, who easily outweighs him by 60 kilograms – 70 according to the URC’s official website that has the prop at 153kgs and the halfback at 83 – before pumping the legs and putting him in reverse.

He managed to push the powerhouse prop, who was part of the Springboks alignment camp last week, a few metres before bringing him to the ground with the Lions’ forwards flopping over at the breakdown and conceding the penalty.

Understandably, the halfback’s tackle caused a stir on social media.

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen, and will never see again, Ntlabakhanye man handled like that! Especially from someone Johan Mulder’s size,” Tight Five Rugby remarked on X.

Another fan added: ” I reckon Mulder *really* enjoyed that tackle on Ntlabakanye.”

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Who is Johan Mulder

Mulder made the move to Cardiff this season from the Lions having played for the Bulls and Griquas previously as well.

“It was a big move for me, but I always wanted to go abroad to develop my game and grow as a player,” he told the URC in January.

“It’s good to play in different conditions. In South Africa, it’s mostly sunshine. There’s a lot more wind and rain here, while there are new coaching systems to get used to as well.

“I haven’t played that much, but I’ve learned a lot. That’s already a win for me. It’s developed me as a player and I can only go up from there.

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“I was used to only running the ball from everywhere, so I’ve had to adapt to a lot more of a kicking game.

“Also, if you make a mistake over here, the other teams are a lot better at capitalising on that, so it’s a lot more about control. I feel my kicking game and my control have developed a lot.

“Cardiff is a great place to come and play rugby. Everybody is very friendly and welcoming and they all try to help each other. The club has helped me out a lot with getting settled in.”

Born, raise and educated in Pretoria, Mulder understandably idolised former Springboks scrum-half Fourie du Preez.

“When I was growing up, he was playing for the Bulls and the Springboks,” he added.

“He was my role model. He went to the same school as me and, when I was 18, he came in to work a bit with the first team and helped me with my game.

“He’s a huge legend in South Africa and, in my opinion, one of the best scrum-halves to ever play the game.

“He was very good tactically in terms of knowing what to do. His box kicking was perfect and he had incredible control of the game and vision as well. When he ran, he basically went and scored. He was exceptional.”

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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/giant-slayer-84kg-scrum-half-epically-drives-148kg-prop-asenathi-ntlabakanye-backwards