Victor Matfield

Victor Matfield, now retired from professional rugby, captained the Springbok rugby team as well as the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Bulls franchise in Super Rugby in South Africa. He was generally considered one of the best locks in the world.

Besides almost always winning his own line-out ball, Matfield is known for his exceptional skill at disrupting opposition line-outs – this skill was a cornerstone of their 2007 World Cup success, where he was crowned IRB (International Rugby Board) player of the Rugby World Cup – and his speed around the field led former Australian coach Eddie Jones to comment that he should be an Olympic sprinter instead. In 2008 he became the first international captain to beat the All Blacks in New Zealand since Martin Johnson in 2003. Matfield initially retired after the 2011 World Cup after an impressive career, leaving the game as the record Springbok cap holder, but returned after a two-year hiatus by signing a two-year playing contract with the Bulls for 2014 and 2015.

Over the course of his career, Matfield has won the Currie Cup final three times (2002, 2004 & 2009), the Super 14 title in 2007, 2009 and 2010, the Tri-Nations in 2004 and 2009 and the Rugby World Cup in 2007.

In 2008 he was inducted into the University of Pretoria Hall of fame.

He eventually enrolled domestically as a SuperSport (TV) presenter for the Super Rugby season. He was also part of the coaching team and served as a line-out consultant for the Blue Bulls provincial rugby team in 2013.