Victor Matfield was born on 11 May 1977 and is a South African former professional rugby union player.
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18 Facts About Victor Matfield
2.
Victor Matfield played for and captained the South Africa national team as well as the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Bulls franchise in Super Rugby.
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3.
Victor Matfield is generally considered one of the best locks to have ever played for South Africa and had a long successful partnership with Springbok and Blue Bulls teammate Bakkies Botha.
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4.
Victor Matfield initially retired after the 2011 World Cup, leaving the game as the record Springbok cap holder, but returned after a two-year hiatus, signing a two-year playing contract with the Bulls for 2014 and 2015.
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5.
Victor Matfield made it to the Craven Week competition for high schools in two successive years.
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6.
In 1997, Victor Matfield was selected for the under-21 Springbok side captained by Bobby Skinstad.
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7.
Big turning point in Victor Matfield's career came when he decided to leave the Blue Bulls for the Griquas in 1999, where he was selected to represent the Cats in the Super 12 that year.
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8.
Victor Matfield went on to help the Springboks' renaissance in 2004 and 2005; in the latter year, he made the five-man shortlist for IRB World Player of the Year.
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9.
Victor Matfield was an instant selection for South Africa's 2007 World Cup winning-squad, and won the Man of the Match award in the final for his brilliant work in the line-out.
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10.
Victor Matfield had been linked with a move to Leicester Tigers of the English Premiership after the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
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11.
Between January and February 2008, Victor Matfield played for Toulon in a stretch of nine key matches, before returning to South Africa and taking part in the 2008 Super 14 season with the Bulls.
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12.
In 2014, Victor Matfield returned to rugby as a player, signing a 2-year playing contract with the Bulls to keep him in the game until the end of 2015.
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13.
At the 2015 Rugby World Cup Victor Matfield started in the first 2 group games for South Africa.
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14.
The Springboks advanced to the knock out stages, with Victor Matfield coming on from the bench in their semi final loss to New Zealand.
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15.
Victor Matfield played for Northampton for one season before ending his 21 year career in a game against Gloucester Rugby.
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16.
Victor Matfield retired from the Springboks after the 2011 World Cup, and considered a coaching career in Australia with the NSW Waratahs.
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17.
Victor Matfield subsequently joined SuperSport as a TV presenter for the Super Rugby season.
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18.
Victor Matfield was part of the coaching team and served as a line-out consultant for the Blue Bulls provincial rugby team in 2013.
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