South Africa must be ready for 'outstanding' Scotland, says Matfield

Scotland, under the guidance of head coach Andy Robinson, had narrowly avoided finishing bottom of the Six Nations with a shock win over Ireland at Croke Park on the final day of the championship, while the Springboks arrived having beaten the British and Irish Lions the previous summer.  

The hosts had also been drubbed by the All Blacks the previous weekend, while Peter de Villiers’ South Africa had seen off Ireland and Wales after a sub-par showing in the Tri-Nations.  

Dan Parks landed six penalties and a drop-goal to guide Scotland past the Springboks in 2010 (Image: SNS) They were on course for the end-of-year grand slam when they rolled into Murrayfield.

That course was swiftly derailed as Scotland, inspired by the boot of Dan Parks recorded a famous 21-17 win.   

The man who led the Springboks that day was Victor Matfield and the legendary lock looked back on the disappointment this week.  

“That was the only game we lost on the tour,” he said.  

“We overplayed a bit on the day and tried to play too much rugby instead of just using our physicality and we made too many mistakes.” 

The weather, he said, was a decisive factor and proved to be a leveller for the Scots.  

Matfield, now working as a television pundit, said: "We felt we were going to get the Grand Slam but the wind was so bad, you couldn’t really play any rugby and it brought [the teams] closer to each other. “ 

“On a day like that you need to play according to the weather and you need to get dominance at the set-piece." 

In the 2010 game, de Villiers opted to rotate his squad and handed opportunities to Lwazi Mvovo, Zane Kirchner, Francois Hougaard and Ryan Kankowski.  

Zane Kirchner was among the players given an opportunity in the 2010 game against Scotland (Image: SNS) While they were surrounded by world-class operators, Matfield believes it was a gamble that did not pay off on the day.  

“We played one or two youngsters with a mindset that we wanted to develop our game,” he reflected, while admitting the Springboks underestimated their hosts.  

“We were too confident. Yes, you want to develop your game, but first you want to win.” 

It is difficult to see master strategist Rassie Erasmus making the same mistake this weekend, despite leaving several first-picks out altogether, and only selecting regular captain Siya Kolisi and former World Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit on the bench.  

But Matfield knows they are in for a serious challenge from Gregor Townsend’s side.  

“I think it’s going to be a hell of a Test match,” the former lock, who was surpassed as the Springboks’ all-time appearance holder was broken by Sunday’s captain, Eben Etzebeth, earlier this year.  

And he lavished praise on Scotland despite a dismal pool stage exit at the World Cup and a fourth-place finish in the Six Nations.  

Matfield continued: “This is one of the best Scottish teams I have seen over the years. I think they are going to be very competitive in the Six Nations.  

“There are some outstanding players in that team. When you are picking a World XV [some of them] would be very close to making the starting line-up. I’m looking forward to watching them play.” 

Matfield, who won 127 caps in a 14-year international career, also backed Finn Russell to start at fly-half for the British and Irish Lions when they tour Australia next summer.  

Matfield played an integral part in South Africa’s 2-1 series win over the Lions in 2009 and believes a handful of Scots could be in contention for the trip Down Under.  

Matfield believes both Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones, who played his formative rugby in South Africa, could be in Lions contention (Image: SNS) As well as Russell, Matfield picked out South African-born prop Pierre Schoeman, centre pairing Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones, plus wing pair Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe and fullback Blair Kinghorn as his contenders. 

Matfield hailed Russell for his impact in the Premiership since joining Bath and said the fly-half will be a key man if Scotland are to end an eight-match losing run against South Africa. 

“He’s got so much confidence,” the former lock added.  

While Russell’s ability to unpick the ‘Boks defence will undoubtedly hold many of the keys for Scotland, Matfield also believes the home side will take great confidence from Glasgow Warriors’ success in winning the United Rugby Championship (URC) last season, but also in their recent showings in South Africa.  

The 47-year-old said: “The success of a team like Glasgow in the URC will give them a lot of confidence.  

“To beat Munster [in the semi-f the defending champions, then beat the Bulls away from home, and then they came over now and nearly beat an almost full Springbok team in the Sharks, they’ll be full of confidence.” 

For the majority of his stellar career, Matfield plied his trade in South Africa, with opportunities to play in Europea few and far between.

He did have stints with Toulon and Northampton, but he believes the current crop’s experience of playing northern hemisphere rugby will stand them in good stead, even if there is a repeat of the inclement weather from that game 14 years ago.    

"They are more used to adapting to the weather,” the legendary lock, who is part of SuperSport’s punditry team back in South Africa, added.  

And for all the talk of the ‘Boks playing a more expansive style since their second World Cup triumph in France last year, Matfield believes they will revert to their roots and attempt to grind Scotland into submission this weekend.  

Matfield expects the Springboks to revert to their power-based game at Murrayfield (Image: SNS) “There’s been a lot of talk about Tony Brown coming in and the Boks trying to play differently, but if you really look at them in a tight game, they still go to the DNA of the Springboks – the physicality and the scrum,” he said.  

“Once they get that, then the attack can come into play. Playing up north, I think we’ll see more of the old South Africa where they try to dominate up front." 

But while Springboks teams have overpowered Scotland in the past – including in the latter stages of the World Cup meeting in Marseille last September – Matfield believes that is an area where Townsend’s side have shown big improvements.  

“Glasgow were the top maul team in the URC last year and even last weekend against Fiji, you saw Scotland were good at stopping their maul. It can be a big weapon.”