After winning a World Cup, the Tri-Nations, repeated Super 14 titles and a series against the British and Irish Lions, scoring a try on his national-record 103rd appearance for South Africa was just another day in the office for Victor Matfield.
From Sport24 , AP.
The 33-year-old lock surpassed the caps record he held jointly with Percy Montgomery and John Smit when he led the Springboks out against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday – and marked the occasion with a rare try in his team’s 29-25 win.
It was the perfect way for one of the world’s leading players of the past decade to celebrate reaching such a milestone but Matfield preferred to put any personal plaudits to one side.
“I said it during the week, I’m really not the guy to speak about records and things like that,” he said.
“It’s a great honor to play so many tests for your country and hopefully I can get a few more if the coach keeps picking me. It’s just nice to be involved in a winning team at the moment.”
Standing in for regular captain Smit, who was absent from South Africa’s end-of-year tour because of a neck injury, Matfield inspired the team to come back from 17-9 down at halftime against the Welsh. He scored the Springboks’ second try in a seven-minute spell just after the break that yielded 17 points and turned the game on its head.
The 54th-minute try, which came at the end of a multiphase move when he sliced through a gaping hole in an overstretched Welsh defense, was only his seventh in tests.
“If you keep hold of the ball, the gaps open up and luckily for me it opened up,” Matfield said. “I don’t score a lot of tries, so it’s nice to get one for the team.”
Matfield finished off that try like a back, symptomatic of a graceful player who has style and class written all over him despite most of his work coming in the boiler room of the Springboks pack.
The rangy lock, along with fellow second-row forward Bakkies Botha, has been one of the cornerstones of a South Africa team that has been at the forefront of international rugby for the past five years. He has been the world’s dominant lineout jumper in that period, no more so than during the 2007 World Cup, when he was voted the International Rugby Board’s player of the tournament as his team swept to its second title.
If you add that award to a resume that includes two Tri-Nations titles, three Super 14 championships, three Currie Cups and a series win over the Lions in 2009, Matfield has seen it all and done it all.
“The one thing about Victor is that he’s a team man,” South Africa coach Peter de Villiers said on Saturday. “I think for him tonight it’s more about him winning with 22 players around him than having him get a milestone and everyone be unhappy (by losing).
“We are blessed to have people like him. I told him the day before this game, ‘You know what, you bring calmness upon myself that I can’t handle.’ I have to get used to it.”
Matfield has little left to prove in his stellar career but helping the Springboks win another World Cup, in New Zealand next year, would be the ideal way to bow out.
De Villiers’ side has had a year to forget, losing five out of six matches in the Tri-Nations where it finished bottom. Many of the team’s leading players have struggled for form while injury problems have plagued the squad to such an extent that 13 regulars are missing for its European tour.
Matfield continues to lead by example, however, and it is currently under his guidance that the Springboks are looking to emerge from their slump.
Successive tour victories _ the win over Wales followed a tight 23-21 success against Ireland in Dublin last weekend _ means a first Grand Slam of the home unions since 1961 is still on.
“We are happy with the way things are going at the moment,” Matfield said. “When we came over, there were a lot of people who said we’d be lucky to win one game on tour so we are taking it week by week.
“It’s a really happy team and we are enjoying the tour. It’s about experience. We have a lot of guys missing but it gives a chance to others and we’re looking at these guys to step up to the leader positions.”
To win a Grand Slam they are going to have to find:
a substitute hooker, as Chilliboy showed yesterday that he is no better than average. Lets hope that Strauss is on the bench and Bismark starts for the rest of the tour.
find a place for Alberts, in the starting pack and find a fetcher.
start with Hougaard
drop Habana
move Aplon to the wing and start with Kirchner at 15
@ Loosehead:
All your suggestions will strengthen our team.
Chillies is becoming the most hated player by us, not his fault. He is good enough for Test rugby , but the way he is treated and used is destroying him. He simply plays not enough, 5 minutes here , ten there , no ways can he show his true potential.
@ Loosehead:Loosehead, Mvovo should start at 11. Habs needs a wake up call he is just not inform or just not up to it any more. If Aplon has to play wing it must be on at 14. Then bring in Zane at FB. Basson was good under the high ball but he too messed up yesterday. So I would have Aplon on at 14, Mvovo on at 11 and Zane at FB. For this tour.
If they do what Loosehead said we’ll cruise the grand slam. I’m tired of being subtle but Habana was shit,not average,not out of form but absolutely shit. Chilly took 5 years off my life yesterday with his line out throws,if you cant throw the ball to Matfield then you wont be able to get it to anyone. He has no integrity and morals playing for the Boks knowing that he is not good enough,thats why I respected Langeveldt so much for what he did by taking a stand.
Alberts was phenomenal yesterday,I’d start him next week and put Stegmann on the bench in case something goes pear shaped.
@ Winston:4 – Morning Winnie. I would give Mvovo a chance this Saturday against Scotland. Start him and not have him on the bench either. Habs should be dropped. He was dreadful yesterday and cost us a try so too did Basson. Put Aplon on at 14 and Zane on at FB. On this tour Strauss needs to cover Bissie as hooker. Chili’s lineout throws was a disastrous and also almost gave me heart failure..hehehe. Especially that he came on so late and the game could have gone either way at that stage. Crazy to have replaced Bissie at that stage when we were still hanging in for the win.
Also I would like to see Lambie get more game time against Scotland. Hougaard too should start. Ruan was outstanding last week and yesterday he never had a great game, Hougaard was far better when he came on.
@ Winston:5 – Agree Alberts was just magnificent. He has to start. Never thought Stegmann was that good yesterday, Alberts made a difference coming on.
I am of the old school who does not like to cheapen the Springbok jersey by dishing it out to every Tom Dick and Harry.
Giving it to Mvovo is okay with me he played good this season. But he is just there because Ndungane , JPP is not there. Now look at it this way the next game might be a easy one, what would we gain by playing him there? I personally think we would gain more by playing Basson again in a easier game so that he can gain confidence. This reasoning can be used for Habana too, but for him the right therapy might be to drop him to get him back to earth.
So Super how many more games must Habana suck,throw tries away and come off his defensive line before being dropped. He is rubbish and currently an embarrasment to Bok rugby,he’s had his turn,time to give it to someone more hungry.
@ Winston:
i said yesterday that we as supporters must ask for his head, just like we put the pressure up on Jake when he was sticking to DwB and MJ
The problem I think is that because he has done some legendary things and was once the golden boy of our rugby the powers that be are struggling to drop him because of the incredible things he has done in the past,if you are crap for a sustained period of time,you must get dropped,end of story.
I guess it goes back to the old story that when players go to Province for another team they become crap 🙂 Jaque Fourie being the exception.
@ Winston:
I think he has more speed than brains, FduP made him.
I think its more to it than that,F Dup has also made Morne Steyn look great as well,its like he is not looking at what he is doing wrong and trying to rectify it,its the same old nonsense with him.
@ Winston:
14
i dont like what i see from Morne lately. He must sharpen up fast.
His goal kicking is probably the best in the world. But I thought he was solid yesterday and actually took the ball to the line yesterday which was a pleasant change. I personally thought that he should have stayed on. As much as I like Lambie I would have felt far more comfortable with Morne seeing the game out.
@ Winston:
If his sharpening started yesterday we must just keep playing him, a big mistake now would be to rest him.
I would keep the team the same except for bringing in Alberts and Mvovu or playing Gio on the wing,otherwise the team is fine considering the resources we have at our disposal.
@ superBul:
Hi superBul, I have to disagree with you regarding Chilliboy. When you are being paid millions a year to throw a ball into the lineout, you had better throw it in straight. 1 miss I could live with, but when your target is your provincial team mate [and his name is Victor Matfield] then you should be bang on the money every time.
He is not in the same class as Botha, Smit, Bismark or Strauss.
@ Loosehead:
OK i see.
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