Victor Matfield
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Player information | ||
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birthday | May 11, 1977 | |
place of birth | Pietersburg , South Africa | |
society | ||
society | Bulls | |
position | Second row striker | |
Clubs as active | ||
Years | society | Games (points) |
1998–2000 1999–2000 2001–2007, 2008–2011 2001–2007, 2008–2011 2007–2008 |
Griqualand West Cats (Super 12) Blue Bulls Bulls (Super 14) RC Toulon |
8 (0) 19 (15) 136 (40) 15 (5) |
National team | ||
Years | National team | Games (points) |
2001– | South Africa | 123 (35) |
Status: October 5, 2014 |
Victor Matfield (born May 11, 1977 in Pietersburg ) is a South African rugby union player who plays in the second row for the South African national team , in the Currie Cup for the Blue Bulls and in the Super 14 for the Bulls . In 2007 he became world champion with the "Springboks" .
Career
Matfield made his debut for South Africa against Italy in 2001 . At the Tri Nations in the same year he came to his first use in the starting lineup against New Zealand . In his first international season he played eight games and made his first attempt at the end of the year , against Italy again. In 2003 he played at the Tri Nations for the first time together with his now long-time teammate Bakkies Botha .
Matfield was a member of the 2003 "Springboks" squad for the World Cup , where he made four appearances. In 2004 he won the second Tri-Nations title with South Africa after 1998. Because of his outstanding performance, he was nominated for IRB Player of the Year , his national team colleague Schalk Burger won the election. In 2007 he became South Africa's 52nd captain in the game against the All Blacks in Durban . At the world championships , he was one of the main pillars of the national team that won the second world championship title after 1995. He was used in all seven tournament games and named Man of the Match in the final against England .
Under the new national coach Peter de Villiers , Matfield is still part of the national team. Due to an injury to captain John Smit , he was again captain against New Zealand at the Tri Nations. He led the team to the historic 30:28 win in Dunedin , South Africa's first away win at the Carisbrook Stadium, known as the House of Pain . In 2009 he was part of the South Africa squad when it met the British and Irish Lions . The Springboks won the series against the Lions 2-1 and secured the third Tri-Nations title in the same year. Matfield was used in all games.
Matfield played for the Blue Bulls as a youth, but moved to Team Griqualand West in 1998 . In Super 12 he played for the Cats . In 2001 he returned to the Blue Bulls and played for their Bulls franchise. He won the championship with this team in 2007 and 2009, plus four successes in the Currie Cup. After the 2007 World Cup, he moved to France for RC Toulon , where he was active for a few months and helped to lead the club from the second to the first French league. He returned to South Africa in 2008 and rejoined the Bulls.
Private life
Matfield married the dentist Monja Bekker in 2003 and has three daughters.
literature
- Victor Matfield, De Jongh Borchardt: Victor. My Journey . Zebra Press, Cape Town 2011, ISBN 978-1-77022-144-4 .
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ South Africa announce Lions squad. In: BBC. June 1, 2009, accessed June 2, 2009 .
- ^ Matfield targets world dominance. In: The Independent. Retrieved June 2, 2009 .
Web links
- Profile at the Bulls ( Memento from August 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- National team profile
- Profile at itsrugby
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Matfield, Victor |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | South African rugby player |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 11, 1977 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Pietersburg , South Africa |