Former Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer on Friday presented the Springbok jerseys to the Test team playing the Wallabies in a Tri-Nations Test at Loftus on Saturday.
For lock Victor Matfield this was a special occasion on the eve of his 100th Test match.
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Citing last year’s victories in the three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions and the Tri-Nations title the Boks won with only a single defeat from their six Tests as the highlights of his international career, Matfield said that Meyer was the man who had the greatest influence on his rugby career.
“It is always good to hear such praise from someone as respected as Heyneke.
He is the man who taught me most about the game and I appreciate this praise,” Matfield said when told that Meyer had said that Matfield was one of the greatest players to have played rugby.
Meyer and Matfield were the duo who secured the first Super 14 win for a South African side in 2007 when the Bulls beat the Sharks in Durban. Even before that famous victory Meyer said that Matfield was the best captain he had been involved with and predicted that his protg would become an international skipper – which he did.
When handing over the jerseys to Saturday’s team, Meyer said it may be easy to say it now but it is not a surprise that Matfield will be playing in his 100th Test.
“What people do not realise is that he is not only the best lineout player, he is also a great all-round player and he often pops up at the right place at the right time.
“What stands out about Victor is his professionalism both on and off the field. And he has matured into one of the greatest leaders of the game with one of the greatest work ethics out there.”
Matfield, a humble giant who has achieved everything there is to win in rugby for a South African – the World Cup, a British and Irish Lions series win, the Tri-Nations, the Super 14, the Currie Cup – also had high praise for Springbok captain John Smit, who has led the Boks in 74 Tests and played his 100th Test last weekend.
Having captained the Springboks in 11 Tests, Matfield said that he had learnt a tremendous amount from Smit.
Playing his 100th Test at Loftus is also special. When Andries Bekker withdrew with an injury from the match against Wales for which Matfield had been rested, the Bulls captain was called up to join the squad in Cardiff and play in the Test.
“I then worked out that my 100th game would be at Loftus. It is a really special place for me, a sort of second home with so many good memories and where I made so many good friends.” The world’s best lineout man said that his achievement tomorrow remained just that: an achievement. The focus is on winning the Test against the Wallabies after losing their first Tri-Nations encounter in Brisbane 30-13.
“It would make the day more special if we win the match. We must take the pressure off ourselves and just go out there and play rugby,” he said.
Very fitting for Heyneke to hand out the Bokke jerseys on Matfield’s 100th Game
gbs @ 1
if we should win today
you can be sure
that
bulls supporters
will claim that even by just touching the jerseys of the bok players,
heyneke inspired the boks to victory!!
The World Is Against Me
By Edgar A. Guest
“The world is against me,” he said with a sigh.
“Somebody stops every scheme that I try.
The world has me down and it’s keeping me there;
I don’t get a chance. Oh, the world is unfair!
When a fellow is poor then he can’t get a show;
The world is determined to keep him down low.”
“What of Abe Lincoln?” I asked. “Would you say
That he was much richer than you are to-day?
He hadn’t your chance of making his mark,
And his outlook was often exceedingly dark;
Yet he clung to his purpose with courage most grim
And he got to the top. Was the world against him?”
“What of Ben Franklin? I’ve oft heard it said
That many a time he went hungry to bed.
He started with nothing but courage to climb,
But patiently struggled and waited his time.
He dangled awhile from real poverty’s limb,
Yet he got to the top. Was the world against him?
“I could name you a dozen, yes, hundreds, I guess,
Of poor boys who’ve patiently climbed to success;
All boys who were down and who struggled alone,
Who’d have thought themselves rich if your fortune they’d known;
Yet they rose in the world you’re so quick to condemn,
And I’m asking you now, was the world against them?”
The Guy in the Glass
by Dale Wimbrow
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your Father or Mother or wife
Whose judgement upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
Some people may call you a straight shooting chum
And call you a wonderful guy,
but the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he’s with you clear to the end,
And you have passed your most dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may face the whole world down the pathway of life
And get pats on the back when you pass,
But your final reward will be heartache and strife
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
The Challenge
by Jim Rohn
Let others lead small lives,
But not you.
Let others argue over small things,
But not you.
Let others cry over small hurts,
But not you.
Let others leave their future
In someone else’s hands,
But not you.
My Wage
by Jessie B. Rittenhouse
I bargained with life for a penny,
And life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;
For life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of life,
Life would have paid.
and my favourate of all
..
Equipment
By Edgar A. Guest
Figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You’ve all that the greatest of men have had,
Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes
And a brain to use if you would be wise.
With this equipment they all began,
So start for the top and say, “I can.”
Look them over, the wise and great
They take their food from a common plate,
And similar knives and forks they use,
With similar laces they tie their shoes.
The world considers them brave and smart,
But you’ve all they had when they made their start.
You can triumph and come to skill,
You can be great if you only will.
You’re well equipped for what fight you choose,
You have legs and arms and a brain to use,
And the man who has risen great deeds to do
Began his life with no more than you.
You are the handicap you must face,
You are the one who must choose your place,
You must say where you want to go,
How much you will study the truth to know.
God has equipped you for life, but He
Lets you decide what you want to be.
Courage must come from the soul within,
The man must furnish the will to win.
So figure it out for yourself, my lad.
You were born with all that the great have had,
With your equipment they all began,
Get hold of yourself and say: “I can.”
ok guys
i’m out
chat again next week
cheers!!
o
and
gooooooooooooooooooooooooo bokke!!
congrats Vic on this milestone… lets hope your team mates can do it for you, and for my superbru.. 😀
3 – 7 @ Ashley:
Seems to me your Poems has an air of desperation weaved through the verses today…. Mr Asblikkie.
10@ nga puhi:
So, you’re a Bok today…..
@ grootblousmile: nope, just an interested observer, but surely 3rd time lucky for a SA centurion?
is it just me, or does GBS and Heyneke Meyer look a lot like each other? Just go and have a look at GBS’s profile picture 🙂
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