Victor Matfield
Those thinking Springbok lock Victor Matfield will retire for the 2nd time may well be disappointed – it seems the legendary Springbok lock is set for another swansong at English club Bath.
The 38-year old Rugby World Cup winning lock should actually retire from playing after the Rugby World Cup and is contracted to take up a coaching position with the Vodacom Bulls next season, but it seems this may not be the case as he seeks a final payday before turning to coaching.
There have been rumours that since the axing of Frans Ludeke as Bulls coach – the Super Rugby franchise has not found a replacement – that Matfield may not be keen to go into coaching just yet, especially as Ludeke’s proposal to move to Director of coaching with Matfield and Fourie du Preez taking over the coaching reigns, was rejected with the Bulls bad run of results earlier this year.
According to sources close to the Bulls, Matfield was also told that the Bulls would not stand in his way if he decided he didn’t want to take up the coaching contract after the Rugby World Cup.
With this in mind, the news that Bath may want to sign him on a short term deal – a season in England to cap off a long and illustrious career – may well suit the Springbok captain very well, especially with the Pound very strong against the Rand at the moment.
Matfield is currently nursing a hamstring injury and is not in action for the Springboks this weekend in their Rugby Championship game against Los Pumas, but is expected to be a big part of coach Heyneke Meyer’s plans in the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
His move to Bulls assistant coach after the 2011 Rugby World Cup was mixed, as he took over the Bulls attack in Super Rugby and was not always a popular figure among the younger players.
When Meyer took over the Springbok coaching job in 2012, he asked Matfield to begin playing again, which the big lock did in 2013 and was used extensively as player-coach by the Bulls over the last 2 seasons. Matfield also led the Springboks into their Rugby Championship test against the Wallabies in Brisbane last month, where he was injured. Matfield has played 12 Tests since returning from his initial retirement.
The Springbok lock has played overseas before, an ill-fated stint at Toulon in the Pro2 division in France after the 2007 Rugby World Cup before returning home after a year and leading the Bulls to their Vodacom Super Rugby titles in 2009 and 2010.
Asked about the impending move, Matfield’s agent Gerrie Swart said there was no truth in the speculation.
SuperSport