Victor Matfield
Victor Matfield will on Saturday become the most-capped Test player in the history of South African rugby when he leads the Springboks against Wales in his 112th Test match at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
Matfield made his Test debut on 30 June 2001 against Italy in Port Elizabeth. He retired after the Rugby World Cup in 2011 on 110 caps, but made a highly successful return to the game earlier this year.
“This is a fantastic accolade for Victor,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer on Wednesday.
“He has been a terrific servant of the game in South Africa and has led his country with distinction since returning to the Green and Gold.”
“When he returned to the game earlier this season, he set his goals on becoming a Springbok yet again and he’s worked extremely hard to get there. I don’t think anyone can doubt that he deserves his place in the team and he’s also been a great interim captain, with Jean de Villiers out injured.”
Matfield, who is also the most-capped Vodacom Super Rugby player in South Africa, will captain a Springbok starting line-up which shows two changes from the team which beat Wales by 38-16 in Durban last week.
Both changes are in the pack, where Tendai Mtawarira returns at loosehead prop, with Gurthrö Steenkamp reverting to the bench, while Flip van der Merwe will partner Matfield in the second row in the place of Bakkies Botha.
The only other change to the team is amongst the backline reserves, where Wynand Olivier replaces the injured Johan Goosen to provide necessary midfield cover. Ruan Pienaar will provide backup for scrumhalf and flyhalf, while Lwazi Mvovo can cover fullback and wing.
Commenting on the team selection, Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said it was an easy decision to stick with the core of the team which beat the Welsh last weekend in Durban.
“I’ve always preferred to stick with a winning combination and the changes to the team were both part of our planning,” said Meyer.
“The backline really performed well last weekend and we would like to give them another opportunity to play together, as there were a number of new combinations.”
“The same applies upfront. Bakkies is fit for selection, but we decided to manage his workload this week and I know Flip, who has been outstanding in the last two seasons, will slot back in easily. The same goes for ‘Beast’, who upped the tempo with his work rate last weekend.”
Meyer said he is expecting another tough challenge from Wales this weekend.
“They’ve had another week together and will be keen to lift their game on Saturday, but at the same time we were not happy with certain aspects of our game and we’ve worked hard to rectify that,” said Meyer.
“This is their last match of the season, so we’re expecting them to come out firing. But we also want to make a step up and ensure we keep on improving as the season progresses.”
Springbok team:
15 Willie le Roux – (13 caps, 25 Test points)
14 Cornal Hendricks – (1 cap, 5 Test points)
13 JP Pietersen – (52 caps, 80 Test points)
12 Jan Serfontein – (10 caps, 5Test points)
11 Bryan Habana – (96 caps, 275 Test points)
10 Morné Steyn – (55 caps, 649 Test points)
9 Fourie du Preez – (Vice-captain, 68 caps, 75 Test points)
8 Duane Vermeulen – (17 caps, 10 Test points)
7 Willem Alberts – (31 caps, 35 Test points)
6 Francois Louw – (29 caps, 25 Test points)
5 Victor Matfield – (Captain, 111 caps, 35 Test points)
4 Flip van der Merwe – (34 caps, 5 Test points)
3 Jannie du Plessis – (52 caps, 5 Test points)
2 Bismarck du Plessis (Vice-captain, 58 caps, 45 Test points)
1 Tendai Mtawarira – (54 caps, 10 Test points)
Replacements:
16 Schalk Brits – (6 caps, 0 Test points)
17 Gurthrö Steenkamp – (50 caps, 30 Test points)
18 Coenie Oosthuizen – (15 caps, 10 Test points)
19 Lood de Jager – (1 cap, 0 Test points)
20 Schalk Burger – (69 caps, 65 Test points)
21 Ruan Pienaar – (75 caps, 130 Test points)
22 Wynand Olivier – (37 caps, 5 Test points)
23 Lwazi Mvovo – (8 caps, 5 Test points)
Date: Saturday 21 June
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Kick-Off: 15:00 SA Time (14:00 BST, 13:00 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Francesco Pastrana (Argentina)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
Stats and facts:
- The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 681 Test caps (295 in the backline and 386 in the forwards), while there are a further 261 caps worth of experience on the bench.
- South Africa and Wales have played each other 28 times since 1906, with the Springboks winning 26 Tests, losing one and one was drawn. The Springboks have scored 777 points and 97 tries and conceded 398 points and 33 tries for an average score of 28-14.
- Victor Matfield will be playing in his 112th Test for the Springboks, breaking the record he shared with John Smit. He will be playing against Wales for the 12th time and will also extend his record of 111 appearances as a lock for South Africa.
- Bryan Habana will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 95 Tests in this position and if he scores a try, will extend his record of 55 Test tries for South Africa. He has also played in one Test at outside centre.
- Morné Steyn will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok flyhalf, with 53 Tests in this position. If he scores a try, he will also extend his record of eight Test tries as a flyhalf for South Africa.
- If he scores a try, Bismarck du Plessis will extend his record of nine test tries for South Africa as a hooker. Bismarck and his brother Jannie will also be playing together in their 33rd Test, which is a Springbok record for brothers.
- Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis will extend their record of 15 Tests as a front row for South Africa.
- If he goes on Schalk Burger will extend his record as the most capped Springbok flank, with 67 Tests in this position. He also shares the record with Juan Smith for the most Test tries as a flank (11).
- If he goes on and scores a try, Gurthrö Steenkamp will extend his own record of six tries as a prop for South Africa.
- Ruan Pienaar, Schalk Burger and Flip van der Merwe are the sons of ex-Springboks Gysie Pienaar, Schalk Burger (Snr) and Flippie van der Merwe (Snr), while Francois Louw is the grandson of ex-Springbok Jan Pickard.
- Wynand Olivier last played for the Springboks on 23 June 2012 against England in Port Elizabeth.
- The referee is Steve Walsh of Australia (previously New Zealand). This will be his 16th Test involving South Africa. The Springboks have won 11, lost one and three were drawn. His last game was the Test against Argentina on 24 August 2013 in Mendoza, which the Boks won 22-17.
Springbok Test match records at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit :
- Most points – 10 (2c, 2p) by Morne Steyn on 15 June, 2013 against Scotland.
- Most tries – one each by JJ Engelbrecht and Jan Serfontein on 15 June, 2013 against Scotland.
- Most conversions – two by Morne Steyn on 15 June, 2013 against Scotland.
- Most penalty goals – two by Morne Steyn on 15 June, 2013 against Scotland.
- Most drop goals – none
@ nortierd:
Sorry, that should be the 12 of July, the 5th we will be spoiling the Bull’s party
@ nortierd:
(nie met gif nie, hoor!)
Oh ok, no I remember that part, it wasn’t you then, but a general comment by a number of us about Sharks being ‘preserved’ for higher honors than test rugby and whattawhatta….
That was all, nothing personal.
Nee man, hulle moet terugkom…ons sal hulle vergewe…
nortierd wrote:
You have it all worked out, I see….mooi man! Tyd dat WP bietjie raas n slag weer, SA rugby het dit nodig, die noord/suid stryd van ouds.
@ Pietman:
Yep, definitely nothing personal.
I’m glad Rye is here to tell me “kak man” 😀
Dis mos hoe dit hoort, almal stem nie saam met alles wat mens se nie, maar ons gee en vat.
Pietman wrote:
Se ek ook, hel, na die slegte jaar moet ons darem net ietsie he om oor te smile, dis mos sommer stront dat net die Sharks SR geniet in 2014.
Hulle “sit pretty” daar bo op die log en ons is so sleg ons kan nie eers die houtlepel wen nie
@ grootblousmile:
Die Eskom besigheid gaan nou maak dat party mense bankrot speel, groot fokkop daar in die GooseBay as die vis begin vrot en die ys smelt….en die manne laaik nie van warm Wellington en coke suip as hulle die slag wal toe kom nie.
@ nortierd:
Natuurlik, dis hoekom ons hierdie RT pub het, om om te verskil soms….dis nie die girl scouts hierdie nie.
En ek leer elke keer as ek die manne se verskillende menings van oor die wereld hier op RT lees.
Hier is ouens wat ken van rugby.
126 @ Pietman:
Ek dink klompie mense en besighede het reeds gekak…
@ grootblousmile:
“Genny hardloop nou maar…”
Gedog dis net Forest wat run, nie geweet sy Jenny hardloop ook saam nie
grootblousmile wrote:
Dis erg man.
En dan vat Eskom se betuur nog miljoene se prestasiebonusse….
Daai klomp dikgatte in die parlement moet n slag ophou met ‘ honarabal membah’ die en daai en skaterlag vir Malema se kuk, hulle moet hierdie probleme ernstig aanspreek en gou ook, of die land is in sy moer.
Ons geldeenheid gaan voor die einde van hierdie jaar R12/US$ wees dink ek, wat bv goed is vir ons uitvoerders, veral die Kaapse vrugtebedryf….maar die manne soek krag vir die koelstore, inmakerye, ens.
121 @ nortierd:
Nee man nortie nou praat jy dan stront, julle speel dan met julle c span 😛
118 @ Pietman:
We had been telling them for weeks that Jake is playing their main players into the ground with them resisting at every turn because Jake beat the all blacks once, after the Stormers game all of them came back to reality, now they are either waiting for the end if the final to tell us we were wrong and Jake knows best or Jake was wrong and is not the best springbok coach ever.
Unfortunately a sad few of them still regard these test matches as nothing games where we should experiment with youngsters (while we only have 4 games to prepare for the RC), while their coach elects to play 18 games with the same players injury permitting (because Jake knows best).
Good to see rye coming along he has to kajones to come here and not only support his team but support our national team with the rest of us. Respect!
MacroBok wrote:
My maat, teen die Koeie en die Guppies is dit al wat ons nodig het
😀
@ nortierd:
Julle het nie eers de allende nie, dis seker nou julle d span?
nortierd on 19 June 2014 at 18:46 SAST
@ grootblousmile :
“Genny hardloop nou maar…”
Gedog dis net Forest wat run, nie geweet
sy Jenny hardloop ook saam nie
What a gem…. LOLZ!!
MacroBok wrote:
De Allende sal speel…..die physio se mos altyd n man moet na n besering met so n ligte drafstappie weer begin
@ MacroBok:
I just hope doesn’t make an arse of himself, the man has earned great respect for all his achievements in SA rugby. I, for one, has always been a great supporter of JW.
But I really think he should cash it in at the end of this year. Do whatt PdeV is doing at the moment, go coach Somerset West RC or Maties U/20 or some club near where he lives, and stay out the limelight.
@ Rage:
@135 Ja, Nortie is weer op sy snykant vanaand, sien ek!
@ Pietman:
blerrie skerp,daai een 🙂
@ nortierd:
haha… speel hy dan teen skotland in n toets wedstryd?
@ Pietman:
Jy weet wat my moer nou weer suur maak is dat ek nou weer seker R200 elk moet uithaal om Jake White en Victor se opvolg boeke te koop.
Hulle stories lyk my kry mos nie end nie
@ nortierd:
jake se boek gaan R215 wees met n pictorial van die victory parade 2014 😉
MacroBok wrote:
Kan jy nou regtig die polemiek sien as Heyneke nie die oorsese Bokke mag kies teen die Skotte nie, en dan nog wragtig weer nie vir Sithole en Jordaan kies nie……kan jy dink watse aarskudding gaan dit veroorsaak daar in daai klein Republiek van hulle?
nortierd wrote:
En jy kan mos hoeka nie rugbyboek weerstaan nie….soos ek!
Janee, erger as die ”Geheim van Nantes” en daai destydse radiostories, of “Dallas” as ons vir Jake bygooi (ou JR instede van JW)….
@ nortierd:
haha en nog n game vir alberts, beast, bissie en jannie
MacroBok wrote:
Al fotos wat ek aan kan dink is n paar sjampanje bottles met teruggedrukte proppe en n paar verlore siele met streamers en daai goed wat mens so met die bek blaas, maar by daai tyd het die busse al terug gereverse in die depot in.
En natuurlik Jake wat deur die strate van Durban stap met n luidspreker en vir almal verkondig dat die victory parade net tydelik uitgestel is tot 2015, because next year will be our year
@ Pietman:
Ek het juis net nou die dag van Just for Kicks daar uit haar majesteit se eilandjie die Zinzan Brooke boek gekry. Dit net begin, toe kom Jonathan Kaplan se boek uit, so ek is lekker uitgesort vir n week of so
😀
@ nortierd:
hulle gaan sulke siele vind wat wandel oor die drakensberge wat mompel oor die wereld beker en die all blacks en fransie
@ nortierd:
Weet nie van SR nie, maar die CC parade kan maklik vanjaar op die Kaapse parade en vlakte plaasvind, soos wat WP nou speel.
Sal lekker wees.
MacroBok wrote:
Almal met sulke lang baarde en wilde ogies, in sulke lang, verslete wit rokke….the deciples according to the gospel of Jake
Users Online
Total 220 users including 0 member, 220 guests, 0 bot online
Most users ever online were 3735, on 31 August 2022 @ 6:23 pm
No Counter as from 31 October 2009: 41,367,117 Page Impressions
_