‘I’m not a fan of Maro Itoje. What is he?’ Springbok legend VICTOR MATFIELD on captain’s flaws, the England star he rates, Henry Pollock’s antics, Elon Musk and selling a buffalo to South Africa’s president

Victor Matfield is walking through the well-heeled suburb of Hazelwood, Pretoria. It is the sort of neighbourhood where private security guards are never far away.

Business deals are cut in the local cafes and Matfield, the 49-year-old former Springbok, shares a story about one of his own as we pass a couple of bronzed rhino sculptures.

‘We’re not far from the bush here,’ he tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘I was CEO of a company that traded game animals. We had auctions and sold a few animals to Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa. He was a part of a consortium that bought a buffalo from us for 168 million rand. That’s around £8m. It was the biggest buffalo in the country.’

Representing the Springboks – as Matfield did 127 times, winning the World Cup in 2007 – opens plenty of doors in South Africa. Pretoria Boys High School is a short drive away and I ask if their most famous alumnus, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has shown any interest in doing business. The next Springbok sponsor, perhaps?

‘People here have tried everything to get to Elon,’ says Matfield, who was a world-class second row. ‘He is South African but from what I’ve heard he doesn’t want to know too much about South Africa. He doesn’t like certain policies and Donald Trump also doesn’t like South Africa at the moment. He’s upset with some of our politicians.

‘John Smit, my old team-mate, went to the same school but I don’t know if Elon was interested in rugby. One of our radio stations tried to call him and he didn’t want to answer. He told the school he would help them once – gave them a million rand and told them not to call him again. It doesn’t look like Tesla will be sponsoring the Springboks just yet…but that would be nice!’

Matfield (left), Bakkies Botha (centre) and Pierre Spies were part of the 2007 World Cup winning team that beat England in the final 

Matfield goes to the gym around the corner from his office every morning. He cycles out towards Klapperkop Nature Reserve and plays padel most weeks. Slim, 6ft 7in, with his iconic black locks – albeit with a few specks of grey now – he still looks like a man who could pack down in the scrum.

But now, approaching his 50th birthday, Matfield watches from afar. He has mentored South African lock Ruan Nortjé and consulted for Eddie Jones but has no official involvement with the Springboks.

‘This is the most dominant era of Springbok rugby ever but our DNA has not changed,’ he says. ‘Being South African, we like the set-piece battle. I was fortunate to play with Bakkies Botha. Whenever he ran on to the field, the opposition knew he was the strongest guy on the pitch. He would say his prayer before he went out on the pitch and just turned into a beast.

‘I’m a city boy and Bakkies is a farm boy. He’s a good man off the pitch, although we are very different guys. If we had one too many [drinks] on tour, the next morning he would be up doing Christian bible studies and he would say, “Guys, you can’t be like that”. He always kept us on the straight and narrow. I was a pretty messy guy when we started rooming together and he would say, “Victor, shouldn’t you fold up your clothes?”

‘We had guys like Os du Randt, too. Tough guys. If you look at this pack now, Eben Etzebeth is the same as Bakkies. He’s the most physical guy on the pitch, then you add Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese. Jasper grew up in the Kalahari Desert and he’s just a tough guy. These guys like Ox Nche have come from tough environments. In the last four or five years, they have unified the country and brought people together.’

Back in the office of his fuel company, Bohlale Energy, which is owned by AFCON president Patrice Motsepe, Matfield reminisces about his Tests against England. He was part of a team that did not lose to England for eight years, famously beating them in the 2007 World Cup final in Paris.

‘When I started off, the talk was always about how the English put our parents in concentration camps here during the [Boer] War,’ he says. ‘But my dad is from an English background! And in the more recent years we didn’t talk in that direction.

‘We started off playing against an unbelievable team with Martin Johnson and all the boys who won the World Cup. We went over to England in 2004 and got smashed, but after 2006 I never lost to England again.

‘We started off playing against an unbelievable England team with Martin Johnson and all the boys who won the World Cup. But after 2006 I never lost to England again’

‘This is the most dominant era of Springbok rugby ever but our DNA has not changed,’ Matfield says. ‘Being South African, we like the set-piece battle’

‘The ultimate game was in the 2007 World Cup group stage, when Fourie du Preez was unbelievable and we just smashed England off the park,’ Matfield says

‘The ultimate game was in the 2007 World Cup group stage, when Fourie du Preez was unbelievable and we just smashed them off the park,’ Matfield says with a smirk knowing his English audience. ‘Then we beat England again in the final.’ 

South Africa’s World Cup triumphs – 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2023 – are some of the country’s proudest achievements. Springbok jerseys are everywhere here, from on the backs of the homeless car windscreen cleaners at the traffic lights to being worn in the middle-class surroundings of Hazelwood.

‘I’ve got the medal in a vault at home,’ Matfield says. ‘We got back to the hotel after that final and there were politicians, businessmen… it was a bit overwhelming. There’s a grass bank by the Eiffel Tower and the next day, me, John Smit, Fourie du Preez, Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and a couple of others sat on the grass for an hour with a glass of white wine. We were looking at the Eiffel Tower and we just said, “Can you believe we’ve done this?” It was unbelievable.

‘We got home and visited Nelson Mandela. The airport was full when we arrived back and we went on a tour through the country. We went through townships, through Sandton, through Pretoria. We went into Soweto and as we drove in, we saw these big Afrikaners, who wouldn’t normally go into Soweto, braaing with the locals.

‘It summed up what Nelson Mandela said in 1995 that sport unifies this country. Even this week with the soccer World Cup, when we got through to the second round, everyone was out on the streets celebrating at 3 o’clock in the morning. Yes, our country has issues, but so does every other country. I still believe there is no better place in the world to live than South Africa.’

On the 35-mile drive down the dangerous M1 highway that leads Matfield to Ellis Park I saw two fatal taxi van crashes on my way back to Johannesburg after our interview. So yes, South Africa has problems but the Springboks are not one of them and this weekend there is nowhere Matfield would rather be than the famous Johannesburg stadium. 

As a lineout specialist, he believes analyst Joe Lewis could have a significant impact on the game. Lewis quit his position with England after the Six Nations and is now part of Rassie Erasmus’s coaching group. He knows plenty of England’s secrets.

‘I had a similar situation with Gert Smal,’ explains Matfield. ‘He was our coach for four years with [World Cup winning coach] Jake White and then he went over to Ireland and helped with Paul O’Connell. He knew exactly how I think about the lineout. When Gert and Paul got together, it was so tough. We played at Croke Park at the end of 2009 and it was probably the worst line-out game of my career. We lost four balls and for me, that was just unthinkable.’

‘I was fortunate to play with Bakkies Botha. Whenever he ran on to the field, the opposition knew he was the strongest guy on the pitch’ 

‘I’m actually pretty nervous,’ Matfield admits. ‘England had the Six Nations so they have played together a bit more. It will be tighter than people think’

‘Itoje doesn’t compare to someone like All Black Sam Whitelock when it comes to running the lineout and he doesn’t have the physicality of South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth’

The prospect of losing to England on Saturday night is equally unthinkable for the Johannesburg locals. Expectations are high. Henry Pollock has kicked the hornets’ nest with his windgat personality and they want to send the English home with bruised bodies and egos.

‘Northampton have been unbelievable but Steve Borthwick very much likes the Saracens way of playing,’ says Matfield. ‘I like Pollock. He’s got a lot of speed, a real feel for the game. He reminds me of [South Africa forward] Kwagga Smith, who everyone said was too small. He will be on the bench, but there are a few South African players who would like to get stuck into him if they can get hold of him.

‘I like Ollie Chessum, too. He is the best English lock for me. I’m not a big fan of Maro Itoje. I don’t know whether he’s a No 4, an enforcer or a lineout specialist. He doesn’t compare to someone like [All Black] Sam Whitelock when it comes to running the lineout and he doesn’t have the physicality of Etzebeth. He’s a fantastic player but I don’t know which one it is.

‘I’m actually pretty nervous,’ Matfield admits. ‘England had the Six Nations so they have played together a bit more. It will be tighter than people think but South Africa will pull through. Rassie is like a God here. Somehow, he just always gets the players ready.’

The nation expects. Perhaps even Elon Musk will be watching.