Blessed with plenty of athleticism and a lynchpin in the lineouts, Victor Matfield is renowned as one of international rugby’s best-ever second-row forwards.VICTOR MATFIELD: THE BEGINNING
Matfield was born and raised in Pietersburg (now Polokwane).

 

He initially played both rugby and cricket during his formative years and represented the Far North Schools in cricket.

However, he gave up that sport due to an injury which hampered his batting and bowling.Matfield then concentrated exclusively on rugby and was selected for Far North’s junior Craven Week side.

He then went on to play lock for Pietersburg High School.

During his high school days, Matfield also represented Far North at the senior Craven Week for two successive years.

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BLUE BULLS
After high school, Victor Matfield furthered his studies at the University of Pretoria where he continued playing rugby.

He was soon called up to the Blue Bulls Under-21 side where he stood out and was also included in South Africa’s Under-21 team in 1997 and 1998.

Matfield made his senior debut for the Blue Bulls in 1998 in the Vodacom Cup and he represented them in seven matches in that competition before joining Griquas the following year.

Matfield represented Griquas in the Vodacom Cup and the Currie Cup tournaments in 1999 and he also made his Super Rugby debut for the Cats that year.

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CURRIE CUP
He continued to play for Griquas and the Cats in 2000 and also represented South Africa at U23 level that year before returning to the Blue Bulls in 2001.

He helped them win the Currie Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and was also part of the team which shared that trophy with Free State in 2006.

Matfield then left the Bulls in 2008 to join French club Toulon and had a six-month stint there before returning to South Africa later that year and winning his last Currie Cup with them in 2009.

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SUPER RUGBY
In 2007, Matfield was part of the Bulls team which won their first Super Rugby title and he also featured prominently when they won the same tournament in 2009 and 2010.