Matfield the Master
13 Jun 2011
MARK KEOHANE, in his Business Day newspaper rugby column, lauds Victor Matfield’s mastery of Andries Bekker and the Stormers.
The occasion demanded Andries Bekker to peel away just a bit of the Victor Matfield aura, but as with the Super Rugby final of 2010 it was the veteran Matfield who simply added to his aura. He remains the best lineout specialist and strategist South Africa has produced and his performance in the 19-16 win against the Stormers at Newlands provides the comfort that Matfield still has the strength of mind and physical capacity to be influential and dominant at this year’s Rugby World Cup.
There were whispers on the eve of the match that Bekker was injured and would not play. The Stormers management denied this but if there was no injury to Bekker before the game then there definitely was to him afterwards – and I am talking about those psychological scars that are a lot more lasting than any physical beating.
Bekker’s performance was always going to be critical to a Stormers victory, but the player who has stood tallest all season had to be content with an evening in the shadow of the master Matfield. It was another reminder that Bekker, for all the potential to be better than Matfield, has not yet delivered in those big moments. Until he does he hasn’t earned the right to be spoken of internationally in the same breath.
The wind conditions at Newlands were testing but the reason the Stormers lost three of their first six lineout balls had more to do with the presence of Matfield than the weather.
The Bulls deserved the win because they played the better finals type rugby and made fewer mistakes. The Stormers fumbled their way through the first 70 minutes and some of the basic handling errors were embarrassing for players at this level.
The defence on both sides was effective and the Stormers were marginally more creative in attack, but the Stormers could not replicate the aggression they showed against the Sharks a month ago.
The match had the traditional South African-derby brutality but as a spectacle it failed to deliver to a capacity Newlands crowd, whose doubts about the Stormers this morning will be justified.
There will be similar questions around the Bulls ability to win away from home in a one-off situation should they be required to travel to Australia or New Zealand for a match against the Reds or Crusaders.
The attacking efficiency from both sides at Newlands was substandard. The Bulls scored from a Stormers lineout mistake and the Stormers scored with two minutes to go and could have had a match-winner with the last movement of the game had Bryan Habana shown the express pace of four years ago to beat the cover defence.
Creatively this match offered nothing for the first 75 minutes as South Africa’s two best teams hammered away at each other. It was all too predictable and from a Cape perspective so too was the result because once again the Stormers lost a match they were favourites to win and once again every doubt resurfaced about the championship capabilities of the Cape-based side, who have lost to the Reds, Crusaders and Bulls at Newlands this season.
Those excusing the Stormers defeat will seek comfort in the Stormers going so close despite having to select their fourth-choice flyhalf because of injuries.
But this was a Bulls team missing Bakkies Botha and Fourie du Preez. Come on, there can be no excuse for the Capetonians.
The Stormers, in securing the bonus point, claimed the South African Conference but they can’t claim the bragging rights of being a cut above the rest of the South African teams and the visit to Bloemfontein has the potential for more questions than answers.
The Sharks and Bulls will determine their own play-off destiny when they front each other in this Saturday’s final league match and everything now favours a home team win and Sharks play-off elimination.
The Sharks decline over the last six weeks has been gradual and a more composed opponent would have humiliated them in Johannesburg. The Lions led 30-9 after 55 minutes, lost Butch James to the sin-bin in the last quarter and were defending their line at 30-all.
I don’t know which would have been worse for Lions coach John Mitchell … to get stuffed or to stuff it up like this?
James, up until his yellow card, had played splendidly at flyhalf and like with Matfield at Newlands the Bok veteran definitely can make a contribution to South Africa’s World Cup success.
398 Comments
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13 Jun 2011, 10:43 am
matfield dominated the lineouts. thats all. bekker wasn’t at his best on saturday but still had much more of an involvement than matfield. Matfield does very little in general play, he is what I call a ruck watcher
13 Jun 2011, 10:50 am
whatever…I’d rather have the consistent Bekker who has dominated over the whole tournament in multiple facets of play hereby placing his team in a position to finish in the top 2 rather than Matfield who decides to rise to the occasion (pardon the pun) in Newlands but has been largely anonymous most of the season. Bekkers allround contribution still overshadows matfields unless rugby is just a game of lineouts
13 Jun 2011, 10:51 am
pull out the stats and I can guaruntee Bekker was more of a worker around the field than Matfield
13 Jun 2011, 10:54 am
@bertus_baarmoeder(bertus_baarmoeder)-1: 5 assists, 18 tackles made, 5 ball carriers, overall gain line percentage of 75%, arriving 1st at 18 rucks.
Very little.
Ruck watcher.
Really?
13 Jun 2011, 10:57 am
Keo, I’d have fully believed you, but the scars of last year’s Tri-Nations still run deep. We led ourselves to believe that Big Vic’s mastery of the line-out art would help retain the trophy, but the way the Boks were systematically dismantled in all facets of play has me a little skeptical at how good he still is. I don’t remember a single match in which the Boks ate the All Blacks lineout (overall, not a few steals), which is something we’ve grown so gratefully accustomed to. He might have dominated the best forward in Super 15 at the moment, but I don’t think our international opponents will be quivering in their boots.
13 Jun 2011, 11:00 am
Here we go, the Bulls beat a Stormers team who have a fifth choice flyhalf, are suffering from jetlag and haven’t had a break for, feels like Christmas and now they are the best thing since sliced bread.
13 Jun 2011, 11:03 am
I thought we were about to see a ‘changing of the guard’ ?
@Kea-Cat(KEA)-6: Bulls did what they had to do. Just remember, the Bulls were short two of their big names as well in Bakkies Botha and Fourie Du Preez. From what I understand, both will be available to play against the Sharks. Goodnight nurse….
13 Jun 2011, 11:09 am
I think you missed the key component in the Bulls victory.
Their loosies were phenominal on the day, with only Schalk on the Stormers side performing well enough to deserve a mention.
13 Jun 2011, 11:09 am
@Dusky(Dusky)-7: Exactly. Especially Fourie. The game plan would have been executed with much greater precision had he donned the 9 jersey on Saturday me thinks.
13 Jun 2011, 11:11 am
Matfield’s best game in 2011 is 20% below his average game in 2009. He’s on the decline. Only produces an occasional dominant game now, and then only at lineout time. Rating? 6/10.
13 Jun 2011, 11:11 am
Matfield got outsmarted by Thorn, Donnelly & Sam Whitelock, albeit Smit’s throwing was in some games atrocious.
13 Jun 2011, 11:12 am
@Kea-Cat(KEA)-6: Stormers have always been the great pretenders… I say that respectfully, as my Sharks team are punching well below their weight category this year (we could have done more to resolve our centre paring’s woes), but the Stormers just don’t achieve anywhere near their pedigree. I’m particularly dismayed at the lack of impact the backline has had…
The Bulls deserve due praise – and they deserve the pounding they got at the beginning of the season – becaus they have been very good in the last 2 odd months. If they really hit their straps (and I hope they don’t this coming week – The Waratahs can do everyone a favout by losing), they will be a good outside bet for the title…
13 Jun 2011, 11:13 am
ag please keo next you will be saying that John Smit is still the hooker he used to be. If habana scored the last try i geuss this article would have read Habanna is the master. This was an extremely disapointing game from arguably SA 2 best teams. Did anyone watch the saders/blues game … comparatively chalk and cheese from the 2 best NZ franchises
13 Jun 2011, 11:13 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-11: also Vic got jacked by O’Connell in 2009 to a point where he commented that “i think they knew our afrikaans calls”.
13 Jun 2011, 11:14 am
@NicG(NicG)-12:
The only team I will care to wager any bet on winning the title if they don’t end up 1 or 2 on the log, is the Crusaders.
13 Jun 2011, 11:15 am
I fully agree with KEO!!! Matfield showed his pedigree. To win a World cup you need 3 big performances from your most experienced players… the ones that have been there and done it time and again. You have to consider who there opponents might be in such games (quarter, semi and the final). Bakkies, Danie, Matfield, Bekker and Flip……. they have the bulk and speed and perhaps a few brain cells between them… BUT MATFIELD remains the KING.
Too often have the young guns slipped up in the games that count ie log leaders REDS, All Conquering Crusaders and then imploding in a 20 – 3 lead against the chiefs…… referring to the STORMERS
BUT why has nobody mentioned the main reason for a Stormers loss!!! We had a QUOTA CARTMAN as a scrumhalf…. (I’m not fat i’m just slow and overweight…. ie supersize me)….
Send him to weight watchers camp with a box of jam doughnuts and a 2 liter gingerbeer… he’ll die a happy man!!!
13 Jun 2011, 11:16 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-4: 5 ball carries, 10 metres made, 0 offloads, contested 2 rucks. We can pick any stats out to paint a picture, but the bottom line is he offers very little around the field
13 Jun 2011, 11:17 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-4:
bertus barmoer…
spent most of the game moering the bar rather than watching the rugby.
spies and matfield had their best games of the year.
the bulls back row were huge against probaby the best back row in the comp.
13 Jun 2011, 11:19 am
@skillie(skillie)-16:
Fair enough Ricky was below par,but how about telling your pack to front up in collision point and most importantly clean the breakdown and not leave it to Habana & Aplon thus maybe ball for scrumhalf could be faster FOR OUTSIDE BACKS…not Schalk,Bekker,Liebenberg etc
13 Jun 2011, 11:21 am
Keo for the record 4th choice flyhalf versus 2nd choice (Hougardt) scrumhalf is hardly a good comparison. Of course the lack of a flyhalf has had an impact on the Stormers. For a start they have had to adjust the game plan for the last 5 or 6 games. Come on man be fair here! Hats off to the Bulls. They came to Newlands and did the business but don’t tell me having no flyhalf is not a factor. I doubt this Coleman kid is even 4th best in WP at the moment versus the incumbent bok flyhalf. pleeeease!
13 Jun 2011, 11:21 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-10: I’m with you a 100% on that one. Should he destroy your lineout at Eden Park on a wet Auckland night sometime in October, though, consider this concurrence as null and void. If the Boks win.
13 Jun 2011, 11:24 am
The biggest problem for the Stormers on Saturday in the lineouts was the hookers, not the locks. Although Elstadt was a weakness as I said he’d be. Danie dominated him in the lineouts.
Well done to the Bulls, one breakaway try was all it took.
Pity the ref didn’t play advantage at the end when the bulls knocked on, as we retrieved the ball, but it;s our own fault for needing to score in injury time.
A good effort in the last 15 minutes by the Stormers, but the first 65 minutes was ****. We didn’t deserve to win the game. Knock ons galore.
The only comfort to me was that we were able to run the bulls that close playing that badly.
13 Jun 2011, 11:26 am
@Dusky(Dusky)-7: Don’t get me wrong, the Stormers were terrible and they deserved to lose, all what I’m saying is the Bulls are going to come short if they think that they are so good after beating a K ak Stormers and an even worse Sharks side.
13 Jun 2011, 11:28 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-11:
Whitelock.Thorn etc got snorted by Blues old man Ali Williams on the weekend.Matfield still the best lineout exponent in the game, knowing how important that facet is for Bok platform as well as territorial dominance while conditions in RWC 2011 in NZ will mimmick those of wet NH hemisphere…Matfield is a must.
13 Jun 2011, 11:29 am
@bertus_baarmoeder(bertus_baarmoeder)-1: If being a ruck watcher, as you call it, gives you the “best no5 of all times” tag, then Andries should try the same.
What a game this was. Not pretty, but the defensive effort and intensity of both teams reminded me of a very important game in 1995.
13 Jun 2011, 11:29 am
19.mshiniwami said
Aplon and Habanna wouldn’t have to clear the ball if January played the game more like a sprint race than a conrades marathon. Therefore leaving our blindside option on winger short.
Quite evident that Duvenhage playing flyhalf was quicker to clear the ball as a scrummie than January… even Ricky started to look like a great flyhalf in those last 5min….
13 Jun 2011, 11:35 am
matfield
is baas
bekker is
klaas
13 Jun 2011, 11:35 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-24: no doubt, that don’t negate the fact that he was made ineffective by Thorn& Donnelly with Whitelock as cover last year.
13 Jun 2011, 11:37 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-24: Matfield got MONSTERED by Chris Jack, just this year in the 27 – 0 demolition, and Chris Jack is a reserve for the Saders. the question is, so what ?
13 Jun 2011, 11:39 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-15: It’s the safe bet… can’t disagree
13 Jun 2011, 11:40 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-29:
and wynand
monstered
jean
on saturday
13 Jun 2011, 11:41 am
@Blue Label(Blue Label)-25: Matfield used to be phenomenal, he is not at his best anymore though. Next weekend keep an eye on him, he doesnt do much, his involvements are minimal, and his defensive technique is suspect. Goes into tackle way too high, never drives anyone back in tackle.
13 Jun 2011, 11:44 am
@gunther is feeling bullish(gunther)-18: Agreed with you there.
I had a big chuckle when FLO made his first steal early in the game, and Stegmann gave away his first penalty soon thereafter.
My joy was short lived however.
Good to see the old guard finding some form and confidence at the right end of the competition. They were always going to be in the squad, and it’s a good thing their confidence is on the up.
As I’ve always said, pick the team in August, not March. There are some who performed well then that are nowhere now. Likewise some late season surges of form.
So I’m feeling better about our chances by the week.
As for the Stormers, well they need to buck up, but they can still pull it off.
13 Jun 2011, 11:46 am
Lock is the one area where SA stands head and shoulders above any other nation (no pun intended).
But we need to bring them into the game more.
A kicking game is the answer, but the right kicking game.
We should kick more for touch instead of kick-chase, and let the opposition kick more for touch by kicking for corners.
13 Jun 2011, 11:46 am
If everything goes to plan the Bulls are off to play the Blues, while the Stormers sit at home with their feet up. If the Bulls and Crusaders win, the Stormers play the Crusaders and the Reds the Bulls.
Imagine a repeat of last years final at Newlands, whishfull thinking.
13 Jun 2011, 11:46 am
Danisaur made Matfield look very good. Schalkie will be having nightmares and sleepless nights for a few weeks, really got bullied by Danie.
13 Jun 2011, 11:47 am
@bertus_baarmoeder(bertus_baarmoeder)-32: You’re entitled to you opinion. Fortunately, the two-eyed thinks differently.
I just knew the Lions would come out firing! They would have knocked back most S15 franchises with that 1st-half performance. Great comback from Sharks. We’re in for two humdingers again this weekend.
Any early predictions?
Bulls 24 – 20 Sharks
Cheetahs 22 – 27 Stormers .
13 Jun 2011, 11:48 am
@Kea-Cat(KEA)-35:
The Bulls will beat the Reds in Brisbane.
They won’t beat the Crusaders in NZ though.
13 Jun 2011, 11:50 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-29:
Yeah but that neither does it negate Matfield’s obvious influence on gameplans and tactics. Sbali you are the one who has been mentioning performances where players have dominated others etc. Jack was dominated by Wayne van Heerden in 07/08 and van heerden was a bit part lock for Cheetahs at the time with Jack still an All Black.
13 Jun 2011, 11:50 am
@willievz(willievz)-34: Agree 100% Playing percentage rugby in opposition halve. We’ve got the line-out jumpers to steal ANY opposition ball, and the fetchers to win many turnovers!
13 Jun 2011, 11:52 am
@Blue Label(Blue Label)-37: Most people outside of pretoria would agree that matfield isnt the player he used to be
13 Jun 2011, 11:52 am
@willievz(willievz)-38: They first have to beat the Blues, they haven’t played them this year yet, but surely they should beat them, the Stormers beat them and so did the Sharks, LOL.
13 Jun 2011, 11:54 am
@Blue Label(Blue Label)-37: I’ve got Sharks to beat Bulls in a tight one (and yes that is my heart talking – not my head) and I think the Cheetahs in Bloem will be a tough ask for the Stormers. Expect them to play similarly to the way the Lions did against the Sharks… If the Stormers rock up, they should take it.
13 Jun 2011, 11:56 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-33:
quite right.
I think the bulls have too much to do to make the finals.
but it’s nice to see boks start to hit their straps.
13 Jun 2011, 11:57 am
@bertus_baarmoeder(bertus_baarmoeder)-41: Have you done the survey? And yes, he is not the same player he used to be, because he’s got more than 100 caps, and past his best. However, there are currently no better no5 in the world. The same people outside Pretoria will tell you that. Except those in beautiful Cape Town and sunny Durban!
The same goes Carter. Not at his best anymore, but no better flyhalf playing the game today….
13 Jun 2011, 11:58 am
@willievz(willievz)-34:
exactly.
the problem is not the kicking, but the type of kicking.
the rolling maul will be a feature in the worldcup.
best we sort ours out.
13 Jun 2011, 12:05 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-39: the point is about keo’s nonsensical “master this week” & “absolute rubbish” the other, matfied has undoubtedly been the best over many years but he has been outfoxed more often than not lately by decent lock combinations. he can bully the cheetahs rubble lock but has a tough time when facing the likes of sharpe – not intimating that they’re anywhere better than him.
13 Jun 2011, 12:10 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-47:
Ok fair enough,but you know keo ubhala amasimba njalo. Its his M.O,you just have to watch/listen to KeoTV etc he is no different to a shock jock.From the “Howard Stern” school of sh*t journalism
13 Jun 2011, 12:13 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-48:
I dunno.
Keo looks like he could eat Howard Stern and still have room for cheese and port.
13 Jun 2011, 12:20 pm
Well Done Bulls !!!
You deserved the win on the day.
It is very funny how some now want to call this one is better and this player is the ruler of that player….
I refrain from that kind of thing for this WC year.
Most inportant thing is Morne did little to convince me he can Handle Dan Carter, Cooper, or even James o Connor in the WC……had the Stormers backs taken just 50% of his uppies that game was different…..
Vic and Bekker is in my WC squad solid and squarely!
Spies is not up to standard, and Basson need to be picked, Wynand offers nothing!!!!! NOTHING!!!!! And we need to get rid of Habana quickly……
For the WC Schalk is a must and I’m glad he is on form this year! Danie is great back up and overall most of the squad should come from bulls and Stormers…..these easy picks shark boks is not on….like Charl Mcleod last year…….over a guy like Sarel Pretorius??? Come on!
Hope Divvy can shock us with some of those “surprises” like Basoon in, Sarel in, Wynand out, Ndungane out……
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