Mad Propz
Front row players rarely top highlight reels. They don’t sell boots. They don’t get slow-motion montages. They get sore necks, taped fingers, and another scrum.
Mad Propz is a short animation and 3D modelling project celebrating rugby’s front row - the subculture, the graft, and the happy warriors at the beating heart of the game.
It’s a love letter to the big lads. The wardrobe-shaped. The pie-powered. The quietly heroic.
Proper respect is due.
The Origin
Mad Propz started with a simple frustration: The biggest men on the pitch were getting the smallest degree of love.
Front row players don’t chase glory. They chase collisions. They live in the dark arts of scrums, mauls, and mutual suffering.
As lifelong rugby fans, we’d always been drawn to the front row - the characters, the rituals, the unspoken bond of three people agreeing to shove very hard at the same time.
What began as a sketch turned into a model. The model turned into a character. The character got a theme tune, the theme tune got a music video. You know how these things go.
And somewhere along the way, Mad Propz became a small but sincere attempt to give proper respect to the players who do the hardest work in rugby, and enjoy it far more than is healthy.
The Concept
Mad Propz is about character.
Every player is reimagined as a vinyl-style collectible - chunky, exaggerated, and built to feel like they could live on a shelf as easily as they live in a scrum (or pub).
Released as a daily series, Mad Propz builds a growing cast of front row personalities - one tight head, one loose head, one hero at a time.
The Characters
Adam Jones (Wales) - Scrum professor. Hair of a Norse god, feet of a ballerina.
Andrew Porter (Ireland) - Human wrecking ball with lovely set of tough stickers.
Carl Hayman (New Zealand) - Industrial-grade tighthead. Registered as heavy machinery.
James Slipper (Australia) - Century man. Calm face, chaotic intent.
Joe Marler (England) - Elite wind-up merchant. World-class scrummager. Hundy faithful.
Marcos Ayerza (Argentina) - Old-school operator. Built like a tractor, drives like one too.
Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy) - Rockstar scrummager. Hirsute in the manner of a gorgeous exotic dog.
Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira (South Africa) - Nicknamed The Beast. You don’t get that for knitting.
Tom Smith (Scotland) - Quiet assassin of the front row. Technical, ruthless, understated.
Uini Antonio (France) - Un shed avec les boots.
Mad Propz
Proper Respect for the Front Row
This piece brings the front row to centre stage - not as background muscle, but as main characters. Big personalities, bigger collisions, and the kind of camaraderie you only earn in close quarters. It’s loud, stupid, and made with genuine affection for a position that rarely asks for attention but always deserves it. We hope you enjoy!
Modelled & Animated - Fraser Davidson
Written & Directed - Fraser Davidson
Audio - Suno
