He marked his return to rugby from retirement when he came on in the 46th minute against the Sharks. He survived much to the consternation of his detractors. Again, he was eased into rugby action the following week, this time playing 35 minutes off the bench in the Bulls second consecutive loss, this time against the Cheetahs.
By Michael Marnewick
In week three he was slotted into the starting line-up against the Lions and the Loftus faithful weren’t disappointed when Victor Matfield’s first start ended in victory. He played the full 80 minutes of that game, to be followed by another 80 minute performance in the Bulls’ outstanding 38-22 victory over a flat Blues’ side at Loftus as the Pretoria side eased into the top four after four rounds of matches.
His detractors may have feared for his safety, coming out of retirement to play again in 2014 in his bid to play in a fourth consecutive Rugby World Cup (he appeared in 2003, 2007 and 2011) which would make his overall record even more remarkable than it already is.
What is to be gained for Matfield who has Currie Cup, Super Rugby, Tri Nations and World Cup medals? Another medal? One gets the sense that the urging of the Bulls was possibly a stronger call than from Matfield’s own body.
Which is not to say he is out of shape or not up to it. The evidence points to the fact that he is quite comfortable in his new role as player-mentor. With Bakkies Botha featuring for the Boks on their end of year tour last year and the possibility that the old second row firm of Matfield and Botha may yet be re-united by Heyneke Meyer who also coached the pair at the Bulls during their most successful years, it is no stretch of the imagine that Meyer may well keep them around.
Together Matfield and Botha hold the world record for the most Tests as a lock combination in the starting line-up (62).
What more rugby for the national team will do for Matfield is to firstly match John Smit who boasts the most caps ever by a Springbok (111) – Matfield has 110 – and then surpass that record, perhaps even set a target that may never be surpassed.
It is still early days, both for Matfield and the Bulls, but the coming months will be most interesting for the player, his Super Rugby franchise and the national set-up as the Boks look to win a third World Cup title.
