As South Africa bids farewell to New Zealand – the Land of the Long White Cloud – the rugby world bids farewell to one of the greatest number five locks of all time.
Victor Matfield, born 11 May 1977, and dubbed the ‘Lineout King’ who ruled the skies for many years, has pulled the plug on an illustrious career.
Loved and hated by many on the field, the benchmark of the line-out, who towers over the average man, has recently been labeled the greatest Springbok ever to wear the green and gold by his long time captain, John Smit. Few would disagree.
Matfield’s rugby career began when he was selected for the Verre Noord (Far North) junior Craven week team, before playing lock at Pietersburg High School.
He was selected for the Craven week team over two successive years before making the Verre Noord senior Provincial team while still in high school.
Thereafter, Matfield became the youngest ever lock selected for the University of Pretoria U-21 side at age 19, and shortly after was drafted into the Blue Bulls U-21 side, too.
In 1997, he was selected for the U-21 Springboks, captained by Bob Skinstad, and made his Springbok debut on 30 June 2001 against Italy during what could be called the ‘dark age’ of Springbok rugby.
In 2005, he was nominated on the IRB shortlist for World Player of the Year (and again in 2010).
In 2007, Matfield became the Springbok captain and the first name Jake White selected as he was key to South Africa’s World Cup winning bid. He duly received the Man of the Match award in the final against England.
He would go on to start all three British and Irish Lions tests of 2009, where again, his line-out dominance was the difference, with South Africa winning 2 – 1. Matfield was a deciding factor in the Boks’ Tri-Nations victory that year, too.
Victor Matfield retires on the back of South Africa’s premature World Cup 2011 exit, having run out for the Springboks on 110 occasions, starting in 105 of them.
His list of accolades include:
* World Cup winner 2007
* Tri-Nations winner 2004, 2009
* Super 14 winner with the Blue Bulls, 2007 and 2009
* Currie Cup winner with the Blue Bulls 2002, 2004 and 2009
* British and Irish Lions series winner 2009
* IRB Player of the year nominee 2004, 2009
* SA Rugby Player of the year nominee 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
* Member of the University’s Hall of Fame, University of Pretoria 2008
At 2,01 Meters (6”7) and weighing 110kg, Matfield defied reason with his ability to disrupt and steal opposition line-outs.
This, combined with a robotic-like read of his opponents’ body language, caused many players to spend hours studying him. We salute you, Victor, for your contribution to the game of rugby.
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