Calling the shots
19 Apr 2010
Victor Matfield is the most complete captain in South Africa.
In the new issue of SA Rugby magazine, we find out how Matfield’s leadership style has evolved over the years and what makes him such an outstanding captain for the Bulls today.
‘I was a real stubborn bugger when I was in my early- to mid-20s. Hard-headed and unplayable at times,’ Matfield says in an honest self-appraisal of his formative years. ‘Even though I was a youngster in the teams I represented I would still want to have an influence on important decisions and I wanted things done my way. On the surface it seemed like I had everything under control, but inside I was unsure of myself. Now I see captains like that and I cringe because they are what I was and it’s ugly.’
Matfield goes on to reveal the things that have helped him to grow as a leader and what he learnt from iconic American football coach Vince Lombardi. Heyneke Meyer and Fourie du Preez also provide unique insight into Matfield’s captaincy style.
Also in the new issue:
– Bulls backline coach Pieter Rossouw on earning his players’ respect, Fourie du Preez’s dispensibility and adapting to the new law interpretations
– The Western Province Rugby Institute was established in 2007 in order to retain the union’s young players and help them to make the transition to senior level. SA Rugby magazine finds out what progress has been made
– Why Wandile Mjekevu has the potential to become a world-class wing
– Bismarck du Plessis on the Sharks’ poor start to the Super 14, his alleged rift with John Smit, and why he wants to stay in Durban
– Conrad Smith on the Hurricanes, next year’s World Cup in New Zealand, his ideal Bok midfield and life after rugby
– Reds flyhalf Quade Cooper may be a bad boy off the field, but he’s making a good impression on it
– The new law interpretations have forced Super 14 teams to change the way they play the game. Rassie Erasmus, Gary Gold, Robbie Kempson and Balie Swart explain why
– Discarded England flyhalf Danny Cipriani hopes to resurrect his career with Melbourne’s new franchise, but it won’t be easy
– Francois Pienaar on the progress of the Varsity Cup, its future plans, Maties’ dominance and how the competition helps transformation
– Former Stormers lock Ross Skeate on his successful stint with Toulon, his enduring hope of a Springbok call-up and why the new law interpretations will never catch on up north
– Jake White explains why the maul is an important part of the game and how to counter-act it
329 Comments
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19 Apr 2010, 11:14 am
@Vetkoek:
Finally someone sees the light.
It is one thing captaining a team from one province, or really when all come from one town and have braais every other weekend together and their wives being best of mates too.
It is quite different to bring the provincial rivalries under control from a national perspective not too mention the political backdrop as a leader of the national team of South Africa…
19 Apr 2010, 11:18 am
@Vetkoek: That’s an excellent point. Agreed. You get captains and captains…..Maybe Vic can still be that guys, but he hasn’t shown that he’s better than John yet
19 Apr 2010, 11:25 am
@PissAnt:
It’s about respect, as i see it.
He’s well respected by players from all the other provinces, by the coaches and by the opposition.
and he is a true gentleman in the after match speeches, particularly when the bulls have lost.
i see no reason why Vic wouldn’t make a good bok captain, not that i don’t see why J.Smit should be dropped anyway.
He does have an issue with some of the reffing lately, which i believe has been shoddy and inconsistant withregards to certain aspects.He has never blamed a ref for his side losing and remains a true student of the game.
19 Apr 2010, 11:31 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl:
I use the philosophy that we can never judge whether a player is good enough or not until he has proven he is not (given the opportunity and did not live up to the responsibility).
Vic captained the Boks a couple of times now and did not really cover himself in glory most notably in our 2007 tri-nations campaign (lost two out of 3 games at home to Aus and NZ) and the Durban test (against NZ) in 2007 when Smit was also injured.
Victor is a very good leader, his record for the Bulls show this.
His record on a national level however though, is not that impressive.
19 Apr 2010, 11:33 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl:
Also, do not underestimate the rivalry between provinces at national level either.
Best example I can think of was the Joost/Corne debacle of 2003 – both very successful provincial captains, respected for their roles at that level (provincial level), but an utter disaster in the national setup.
19 Apr 2010, 11:35 am
think it’s crazy that at this time we’re promoting one above the other as if their leadership is a mutually exclusive thing…
many great captains will talk about relying on and including the other leaders on the field…
to me it’s not an either/or situation…
we’ve got them both… two great leaders and rugby brains… we must back them both… together… yes they may be great individual captains and leaders… but together they create a phenominal leadership core that that is the envy of world rugby…
when 2011 comes around we’ll need all the leadership and motivational skills we can get…
Smit to captain… and Big Vic to lead as well…
sheesh… only in South Africa to we deem irrelevant, skills and experience that can’t be bought for ANY price… and it’s that experience we need big time next year…
19 Apr 2010, 11:37 am
victor always used to give the ref the beady, or at least it came accross that way, he looked mighty dof, but he is a clever play and has matured, i still dont fink he’s engels is vat great, dats fine but da ref no comprende.
19 Apr 2010, 11:37 am
ya i wonder if this isnt in response to the interview with roxi smit, i think these journos hate j smit hey -interesting in that behind the seens look at the lions test ,frans steyn had more to say at half time than vic matfield
19 Apr 2010, 11:39 am
@baw:
Frans Steyn has the best English comprehension of all the dutchies, he was transalting Smit’s half time speech!
19 Apr 2010, 11:43 am
@PissAnt:
yes, but joost and krige are both arseholes.
and comparing matfields win record with the boks is also laughable.
under smith we’ve lost to the kiwis at loftus(a proper hiding) and the 49-0 catostraphe.
not that I hold smith responsible but he was captain those days and I don’t see him as a bad captain because of those loses.If anything, those loses made him an even better leader in the long run.
19 Apr 2010, 11:43 am
i’d like to see Juan Smith as the captain, he would not understand a goddamn thing, lol, he’s post-match interviews are great, ja nee Juan vok nie rond nie. hy is daar om rugby te speel.
19 Apr 2010, 11:43 am
I have been impressed by Big Vic this year. He has undoubtedly matured.
But, (And this is not a critisism), who couldn’t Captain a Team like the Bulls?
Would he be as impressive the Cheats Cappy?
Whatever, Smit will Captain the Boks. It is written in stone.
19 Apr 2010, 11:46 am
lets face it tho on if captaincy and ref handling is the criteria, smit is light years ahead of the rest, he’s about as close to fitspatrick as anyone has come, very wily customer.
19 Apr 2010, 11:48 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl:
Smit won 2 Tri-Nations, B&I Lions series, and a World Cup…
I think his captaincy and role in all those victories speaks for itself.
Vic as mentioned is a very good leader for the Bulls – he has never taken that with any amount of success to the Bok setup where he basically had a full Tri Nations season to establish himself as such.
19 Apr 2010, 11:49 am
only thing is no-one could ever hope to match the choir-boy face fitzpatrick revealed after surfacing from the bowels of a ruck.
now there was an expert cheata…
19 Apr 2010, 11:55 am
@PissAnt: ha ha ha
19 Apr 2010, 11:59 am
At this level lets face it….what’s a Cappy got to do.
1- Say, “Yes Sir, Please Sir”, to the Ref.
2- Decide whether to kick for 3, or kick for lineout.
3 -At the end of the match remain polite and articulate in front of the TV camera.
3a- Refrain from swearing, spiting and dribbling when being interviewed.
4- When the Ref says “go back and tell your players to cease….”. Well……..go and tell them.
5- Stay away from the Bookies.
Not exactly Brain Surgery.
19 Apr 2010, 12:01 pm
@cane:
Go read an interview on what Richie McCaw had to say about Smit, his role as captain of the Boks and the challenges he faces when they were roomies for the Baabaa’s clash 2 years ago.
In Kiwi land it (captaincy) might be as simple as you explained – over here, it is something quite different.
19 Apr 2010, 12:21 pm
@Vetkoek: 48
I said that yesterday already. Vic is not the one to captain SA.
Doing the odd hospital job, by all means.
Smit will captain the Bokke until WC 2011. That is just a fact. Only thing that will prevent that from happening is Smit himself by retiring or if he gets injured. Matfield will not play for SA after WC 2011. He may even retire permanently after that.
That makes this whole debate pointless.
In the unfortunate event where Smit through either retirement or injury does not go to WC 2011 it would be a big mistake to consider Matfield as full time captain of the Bokke for reasons as explained by Vetkoek already..
19 Apr 2010, 12:23 pm
@PissAnt: @nama1:
Think it was Jake White who summed it up best:
“Let me put it this way,” said White. “A Springbok team contains Afrikaners, Englishmen, coloureds and blacks. It has parochial foes in Bulls, Sharks, Stormers, Cheetahs and Lions. It is a recipe for war! Yet in all the years of John Smit’s captaincy, there has never been one unhappy customer, not one voice of rebellion against his leadership. He is the glue that holds the Springboks together. The man is a legend!”
19 Apr 2010, 12:27 pm
@PissAnt:
I know PA. (my tongue was wedged)
And despite some of my Posts, I have huge respect for both Smit and Victor.
19 Apr 2010, 12:30 pm
@Vetkoek:
Is that why Smit treated Young Luke like a Lepper?
19 Apr 2010, 12:36 pm
@cane:
As I understand it, he actually tried to include Watson initially. By all accounts (including Watson’s), Luke didn’t want to even be there, so what was Smit supposed to do? Lay out the red carpet and treat him like a hero?
It’s also not really been discussed, but I for one believe there is at least some correlation between Watson’s departure from the Stormers and their improved successes this year?
19 Apr 2010, 12:39 pm
@cane: in actual fact, smit lobbied hard for luke to be a bok with jake white, who disagreed.
its all in his book, captain in the cauldron.
it was only later when luke became a divisive influence in the team structures that js realised that he was a bit of a cancer.
luke is probably a really nice guy one on one, but he has had problems in a team environment at both the sharks and province (read bekkers comments regarding the improvement in team spirit after lukes departure if you dont believe me).
but people like grant10 will whip themselves into a proper panty wetting over Smitty’s comments without ever having read the context of the comments.
like a teenager railing at the way the world is.
and now JS isnt hitting rucks according to grant?
what next? he doesnt have a tan?
funny how all these comments about JS are almost carbon copy of 2006-2007.
oh the irony.
19 Apr 2010, 12:42 pm
@Vetkoek: uh, ya think?
ok, maybe the imports had a hand in it too but for all of grant10′s attacks on schalk, the man is leading his troops and on fire at the moment.
i hear he even gets time off training to go to the beach
19 Apr 2010, 12:48 pm
Im sorry you cant even compare Victor to John. John is probably the greatest captain of all time, whereas the Boks look decidedly week when Victor was been the captain. Victor has never stepped it up on the international stage when captaining
19 Apr 2010, 13:02 pm
@Vetkoek: @rangerman:
Thank You Gentlemen for your posts.
However, if Luke is/was a cancer, how come he gets the “WP Players Choice Award”.
The complexity of the SA psyche is beyond those of us who view it from abroad.
I see Luke as a victim. And many of us are victims. Such is life.
But we, the “Great unwashed” don’t have our personal conversations taped for all to crucify us.
How many of us, here on Keo, could withstand the scrutiny of our every utterance. In the manner Luke has had to endure.
19 Apr 2010, 13:17 pm
@cane: The truth is you cannot hold another accountable for their words concerning you without admitting to your own faults (Lukes reaction to JS book ) and also you cannot judge someones actions and call them a cancer without recognising the impact those words would have.
The first step in reconciliation is admission and the second is forgiveness. Even better though is when one can forgive without the other requiring to admit guilt first, thats called Grace.
I for one believe that both of these players never intended what was portrayed but bloggers are willing to forgive the one without any consideration for the other and will avoid looking at the context in which things were said and done. Whilst I don’t like either’s comments what good does it do me to sit in judgement of them, does it make me feel better? No, all it does is fuel the provincial rivalries even more and create a bitter and twisted society.
19 Apr 2010, 13:30 pm
i did not mean to sound like i was judging luke.
i am not.
i am merely mentioning what js said in his book.
to be honest, luke is gone and i am tired of the issue.
but smitty will be capitano in 2011 barring injury and for that i am thankful.
19 Apr 2010, 13:31 pm
@bananaboy: 78
Spoken like a true gentleman.
19 Apr 2010, 13:35 pm
Can anyone please point out where Smit refers to Luke as “a cancer”? I read the book and admittedly English is not my first language so I allow room for the possibility of my comprehension being a bit soddy, but from my understanding Smit says some of the other players came up to him and refered to Luke as “a cancer”?
19 Apr 2010, 13:41 pm
@Taahirah: Apologies if that is the case because I was led to believe on this site that Smittie had referred to him as a cancer. I really must read the book , a friend has offered to lend it to me to read.
19 Apr 2010, 13:45 pm
Cheeky ranger
There are unconfirmed reports of a schalkwatch station on 4th beach..
It is different to the other lifeguard stations in that
It faces inland
It’s guard wears a different coloured speedo
It has a “luke is duke” beachtowel wafting gently in the breeze
19 Apr 2010, 13:49 pm
smit is nowhere….useless….a passenger.
Klaar.
19 Apr 2010, 13:50 pm
schalk is showing the way with a series of great performances….respect.
Smit started badly
and got worse.
now a journeyman….at best.
19 Apr 2010, 13:51 pm
but we will pick him
and pay the price
it is written in stone….pdv has joined teletubby at the hip….so be it.
lots of tears coming.
19 Apr 2010, 13:52 pm
@bananaboy:
@#78
Seemingly nice words, nicely put together, organised and structured but, in reality, pure unadulterated garbage.
If your skewed thinking is only one iota correct then not a single one of the victims of racism can judge and hold responsible the millions of whites who put racism into place/practice and maintained it there for all those years by whatever vast means at their disposal including the corrupt and evil police-force and military.
Are you then suggesting that that is unquestioningly so and correct?
I am not interested in a long meaningless philosophical discoure, just a simple response like a yes or no.
Or have you already judged in your limited context where you possibly were never a victim.
19 Apr 2010, 13:58 pm
Even now, almost 20 years after this seemingly non-racial dispensation, too many who formerly had the vote(alone), still do not want to accept, and admit, that the Watson family’s major flaw was, and still is, their intolerance of and non-acceptance of racism even in this day and age in the history of S.Africa.
19 Apr 2010, 14:01 pm
@PissAnt: Can you give us a jist of what he wrote ? A mate was at a function in Dubai with them both a few yeras ago, said they got on well.
Also mention Richie left with two very hot chicks ….. now thats a captain leading from the front.
19 Apr 2010, 14:06 pm
@ET: ET ,the victims of racism have a choice is all I’m saying. They can hold the millions of whites responsible or choose to forgive them and that I know is very hard to do. I think its rather presumptious of you to assume that because I am advocating forgiveness that I don’t advocate accountability. All I’m saying is that when you do choose to hold someone else accountable realise that you apply the same judgement to yourself.
19 Apr 2010, 14:07 pm
@ET:
Lets stick to rugby, for me Luke was a good loosie but nowhere near great like Juan, Shalk or upto the developing Brussow and Spies.
It is just bad luck on his part that we have one of the best Bok teams in history and he is not part of it. Nothing to do with politics …. or is it ??
19 Apr 2010, 14:07 pm
@ET: and don’t presume I’ve never been a victim. I’ve had to forgive things as bad if not worse than you could imagine my dear friend.
19 Apr 2010, 14:21 pm
@bananaboy:
@#90
Life is not as simplistic as you would have and humans have many emotions to which they react.
If I just take one loss that some suffered, does forgiving whites give back to those millions who lost their homes, because of the Group Areas Act throughout the Cape but particularly in places like District 6 and Woodstock and Claremont and Sea Point etc., to them?
The answer is a resounding NO. They have not even been compensated for those losses which at that time was largely their life’s savings then. And that is just one area to be addressed but what about the myriads of other questions?
19 Apr 2010, 14:22 pm
@bananas:
In essence, Smit and McCaw were roomies, whilst chilling in the room John got a call from a reporter and continued to do an interview right there and then.
At the end of the conversation, McCaw apparently asked Smit what that was all about (it was full of questions about the South African political landscape, quota selections etc.) and McCaw apparently could not believe what Smit had to deal with as a captain.
That is about the low-down of it.
19 Apr 2010, 14:30 pm
@bananaboy:
@#92
When you do not have a worthy point of view then too many latch on to emotional straws as you do in post 92.
In my post #87 I clearly indicate you may or may not be a victim as shown below in my quote from that post:
” Or have you already judged in your limited context where you possibly were never a victim.”
The word “possibly” indicates you may have been a victim.
Always think CLEARLY before you write anything, as it may offend others in a way you may not even realise.
The coin always has two sides.
19 Apr 2010, 14:36 pm
@bananaboy:
@#90
I asked you for none of your philosophical garbage.
I have not acted in an inhuman manner to any fellow humans anywhere where I have found myself on this globe but that does not mean I will never defend myself when there is a need to so do.
Matter closed, so do not give me more garbage.
19 Apr 2010, 14:38 pm
@ET: Your wish and I respect your views.
19 Apr 2010, 14:40 pm
My 2 cents, whites should be accountable, the watson’s family stance during apartheid was extremely honorable and the correct thing to do, which should have nothing to do with selecting for a rugby team. Some thought Watson was a very good player who deserved to be a springbok, many others did not cos they felt their were better players in SA. As in every team, there are players who feel hard done by for not being selected. Stephen Jones and Murray Mexted both felt Watson was too small.
19 Apr 2010, 14:47 pm
@cab: #98 Many of his ex girlfriends share Jones’ and Murray’s view. But for different reasons.
19 Apr 2010, 14:50 pm
Jake White had a penchant for size, especially in his pack, he noticed that the Boks were being dominated upfront particularly by teams like England, whose 02/03 pack he tried to emulate. He also did not like to get dictated to by players, he not only refused to select watson, but schalk brits too, because JW had something specific in mind. you may argue whether he was right or wrong, but he did improve the boks and he did win a world cup.
Watson’s non-selection had nothing to do with politics, the coach simply did not resonate with watsons style. Instead it became political when his family and the politicos exerted influence, one of those outcomes being hoskins worst error of judgement in bypassing the selection process.
Even Mugabi started off as a reformer before power went to his head, ppl in power should not overstep their remit because emotions outweigh everything else and nepotism filters in.
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