‘This is a special Springbok side in a special era,’ says Victor Matfield

Despite the Springbok management and players downplaying their superb achievement of beating the All Blacks four times in a row, former Bok legend Victor Matfield says they will one day look back on it as an incredibly special moment.

The Boks’ 18-12 win at the Cape Town Stadium earlier this month saw them make history with their fourth straight win over their biggest rivals for the first time in the professional era and just the second time in the over 100-year history of them playing each other.

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus however poured cold water on the achievement, pointing to the fact that the All Blacks had done it to them multiple times and had picked up huge record wins against them, while some of the players also downplayed it.

But Matfield, who was part of the brilliant Bok team that won the World Cup in 2007, British and Irish Lions series in 2009, and beat the All Blacks three times in a row on their way to the Tri Nations title in 2009, said that when the players and management one day look back on it they will realise how big it really is.

“While you are in the game you will always downplay achievements. But when you look back at your career it is different … 2009 for me was probably our best year, beating the All Blacks three times. I was also fortunate enough that year to captain the Barbarians and beat them a fourth time,” said Matfield.

You don’t just beat them

“You don’t just beat the All Blacks. It doesn’t happen. You look at the record over the years and it doesn’t happen. Even if it isn’t one of the best All Black sides, it still doesn’t happen.

“If you go back to 2009 when we beat them three times in a row, that same (All Black) team with the same players turned into double World Cup champions.

“They obviously got together after 2009, said they had to change certain things, and with those same players they turned things around and became double World Cup champions.”

The current Springbok group are on an unprecedented run of success, having won back-to-back World Cups in 2019 and 2023, won the British and Irish Lions series in 2021, won the Rugby Championship in 2019 and are now on the verge of a second Rugby Championship title.

Matfield believes that this is possibly the most successful Bok side ever and that everyone involved, coaches, players and fans, will all look back on this time with pride.

“I think these (Springbok) players will look back at this as something special. Winning the World Cup twice in a row, then going out and beating the All Blacks four times in a row, at the end of their careers they will look back at this as a very special time,” said Matfield.

“Us as fans as well. We will look back at this as a very special Springbok side and a very special era in Springbok rugby as well.”