VICTOR MATFIELD SPECIAL TRIBUTE
Âť Words By: Wilhelm de Swardt, Photo By: SASPA
Victor M
Advice for young athletes 24
Game On Magazine, October: Issue 01, 2013
COVER FEATURE: RUGBY
In the lineout with
Matfield Victor’s career highlights Victor’s rugby life lessons Victor’s TOP 5 sports heroes
Victor Matfield is the most-capped Springbok rugby player of all time. He is a national hero who transcends rugby provincialism and has fans across the world. Matfield’s rugby exploits and achievements are numerous. He was a pivotal part of the teams that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup and defeated the British Lions in 2009. He also helped the Boks win two Tri Nations tournaments, and as captain of the Bulls, he lifted the Super 14 trophy three times, and basked in Currie Cup glory with the Blue Bulls.
Game On Magazine, October: Issue 01, 2013
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VICTOR MATFIELD SPECIAL TRIBUTE
Passionate rugby fans will tell you that, apart from almost always winning his own lineout ball, Matfield was well-known for his exceptional ability to disrupt opposition lineouts. This peculiar skill of his was one of the cornerstones in the victory of the Boks in the 2007 World Cup tournament. Matfield was crowned IRB (International Rugby Board) player of the Rugby World Cup tournament.
But where did it
all begin for the boytjie from Pietersburg? “When I was a ‘laaitie’ I never wanted little toy cars or, for that matter, any other toys for my birthday. Sports equipment, like a tennis racket, a cricket bat or a rugby ball, excited me. I don’t think I ever owned a toy car. Since I started to walk I was passionate about sport. My parents, Fai and Hettie, who were both teachers, certainly played a major role in my passion for sport. Since I was five, I tagged along when my dad went to coach rugby or cricket and kept myself busy playing with a ball. I was actually privileged because by the time I went to primary school, I had already mastered the basic techniques of rugby and cricket.”
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Game On Magazine, October: Issue 01, 2013
COVER FEATURE: RUGBY
“Throughout my school years sports were important to me.”
In his autobiography, ‘Victor – My Journey’, Matfield tells the story of how his parents were not impressed when, as captain of Pietersburg North Primary at under-8 level, he advised his teammates to run off the field without shaking the hands of the winners after receiving a drubbing at the hands of Pietersburg East Primary. The team made a beeline for the pavilion after the loss, but the young Victor was not fast enough. His mother chased him down like a fleet-footed winger, grabbed his right ear and gave him a lecture. She said:
Photo By: Activo Health
“Victor, you turn back this instant. Go and find every player of that team, shake their hands and tell them they played well. The same applies to their coach. And then you thank the referee for the game. If you don’t go back right now, I’ll see to it that you never play rugby again!” Matfield, his tail firmly between his legs, had to turn back to congratulate the Pietersburg East Primary team. This event helped lay the foundation of his future rugby career.
Game On Magazine, October: Issue 01, 2013
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VICTOR MATFIELD SPECIAL TRIBUTE
One of Matfield’s favourite sayings has always been:
“Champions train while others rest. Nothing beats hard work.” “I can still remember how, when I was still in primary school, my dad and I would spend up to five hours in the cricket nets during a school holiday.” “I also ran cross-country at school to improve on my fitness. Another reason why I am grateful to my parents is that they always emphasised the importance of leading a balanced life. It was always just as important to excel at my school studies as it was to achieve a good result on the sports field. I had three distinctions in matric: maths, science and accounting. Languages were, and still are, my weakness.” According to Matfield, he was much better at cricket than at rugby at first. “I only really started to play good rugby when I was in standard nine and matric. In matric I was selected for the SA Academy Team. I represented Far North for two years in a row at the Craven Week. After school I received a bursary to study at the University of Pretoria. I made a bit of rugby history when I was, at 18, the youngest lock ever to have played for the Tuks 1st team. I also represented the Blue Bulls under-21 team for three years, not missing one game.”
Matfield then left the Blue Bulls to play two seasons for Griquas. 28
Game On Magazine, October: Issue 01, 2013
COVER FEATURE: RUGBY
“I did not want to, but I had no choice. At the time Krynauw Otto was incumbent number five lock for the Blue Bulls as well as for the Springboks. I wanted to play rugby matches but I realised that, with Krynauw in the Blue Bulls team, it was not going to happen. That was why I left to play for Griquas. I don’t regret my decision because I had a lot of good exposure. We played in the Vodacom Cup Final and I was a member of the Cats team that played in the semi-final of the Super Series. I then returned to the Blue Bulls and, as they say, the rest is history.” Game On Magazine, October: Issue 01, 2013
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5 VICTOR MATFIELD SPECIAL TRIBUTE
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 30
SIDE BAR
Victor Matfield career higlights
I n 2002 I was a member of the Blue Bulls team that won the Currie Cup. We were really a young rookie team with an average age of between 22 and 23. We did not have a good Super 14 season, having lost all our games, but in the Currie Cup we started to gel as a team. We beat a starstudded Sharks team in the semi-final and then went on to beat the Lions 31-7 in the final at Ellis Park. he famous 2007 Super 14 final in Durban, where T Bryan Habana scored the winning try after the hooter had already gone to signal the end of the game. There were so many emotions going through my mind. One moment I thought that it was all over, and we had lost. The next moment there was total jubilation when we realised that we had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The Bulls won 20-19. inning the Rugby World Cup in W 2007 when the Springboks beat England by 15-6 in the final. There is nothing that comes even close to winning a World Cup final. What made it even more special for me was to be elected as the ‘player of the match’ afterwards. he 2010 Super Rugby final when we beat T the Stormers by 25-17 in Soweto. This showed that people of different cultures can come together and share the same joy. And it was sport, in fact rugby, that made it all possible. Watching the conservative Blue Bulls supporters drink beer and braai with locals was something that I will never forget. eing a member of the Springbok Team that beat the B British and Irish Lions in 2009 was also very special. A player only gets an opportunity to play against them once in a rugby career. The series was clinched on Loftus when the Boks beat the Lions 28-25.
Game On Magazine, October: Issue 01, 2013
MAIN COVER FEATURE: RUGBY
FEATURE
SIDE BAR
Photo By: Dr Henry Kelbrick
Pitfalls for young players: One of the main problems for every young player who starts after having completed school is how to handle success, fame and money. While still at school players are looked after and protected by their parents and coaches, but when they go to university it changes. Suddenly they earn more money than any of the friends who were at school with them and people begin to recognise them. This is when it becomes easy to lose the plot and go astray. The girls like you, you suddenly have a lot of friends, you can have big parties, you drive an expensive car and you earn lots of money. It becomes a case of ‘easy come, easy go’. There should be structures in place to help and assist young players at this stage of their careers. They should be taught about the importance of maintaining a balanced life. They should realise that they are not the only people who are successful. There are others who also excel in what they do. Game On Magazine, October: Issue 01, 2013
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VICTOR MATFIELD SPECIAL TRIBUTE
SIDE BAR
Matfield selects
top five players of his playing era 1. Fourie du Preez
(Bulls and Springbok scrumhalf): As captain and vice-captain of the Bulls and Springboks we spent hours to analyse and strategise how we could win games. There is no better friend or teammate than Fourie.
2. Bakkies Botha
(Bulls and Springbok lock): In spite of being so different on as well as off the rugby field, we just gelled. There definitely is truth in the saying that opposites attract. I am a true city slicker who loves fast cars, while Bakkies cannot wait to go to the bush. The only car for him is a Land Cruiser. On the field I was the guy who wanted to run, ball in hand, and to initiate plays, while Bakkies just wanted to terrorise our opponents and sometimes even hurt them.
3. George Gregan
(Wallaby scrumhalf): He is a brilliant tactician and the ultimate gentleman on the field. During the time I played with him for Toulouse in France, I did not once hear him moan or say anything bad about another player.
4. Richie McCaw (All Blacks captain): When you played against Richie, you knew that you were in for a tough game. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘quit’.
5. Paul O’ Connell
(British Lions and Ireland captain): Because he was an expert analyst of lineout tactics, it was difficult whenever we played against him. He is a great guy off the field.
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Game On Magazine, October: Issue 01, 2013
Photo By: Dr Henry Kelbrick