Boks to write a 'new chapter'
Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:32
New chapter: Bok vice-captain Victor Matfield
The French may have had the wood over South Africa in the last decade, but the class of 2010 are ready to write a new chapter in this ongoing saga.
Springbok vice-captain Victor Matfield, speaking ahead of Saturday's engaging encounter between the Tri-Nations champion Boks and Six Nations Grand Slam-winning French at Newlands, Matfield said it is time to "forget" about the past and "focus on the future".
Having been repeatedly confronted by the media corps with the Boks' poor record against the French since 2001, a decade in which South Africa have managed just two wins in nine starts, they are determined to move on and start a new chapter - especially with a view towards next year's World Cup.
"Yes, it is a very big game for us," Matfield said at the team's hotel in Cape Town on Thursday, adding: "The French are right up there as one of the leading teams in world at the moment."
However, Matfield was quick to point out that most of the Boks' defeats in the past decade were on French soil.
"Yes, we haven't been succesful against them in the last few years, but we haven't often played against them in South Africa.
"It is nice to meet them on SA soil.
"However, I think we must not focus on the past, but rather on the future and what we want to achieve as a team."
Matfield added that the Boks' preparations have been very good this week and they are looking forward to the encounter at Newlands.
The Boks have also been frequently confronted by the media with the physical nature of the French game and how they outmuscled the Boks in Toulouse last year.
Matfield admitted that the French game has changed over the years.
"Everyone always talks about the French flair, but they are also a very physical side," he said, adding: "Their basics are very good - the scrums and line-outs - and they are good at the breakdown. That is what makes them such a great side.
"We'll have to be at the top of our game and compete in all those areas," he said.
The one area where the Boks could have an edge over the French is in the line-outs - Matfield's area of expertise.
"We will try and attack them at the line-out, but the French are also one of the best line-out teams in the world and they tend to do things differently to most others. Hopefully we can steal a few balls off them."
The 93-times capped lock, who has missed only one of the Bulls games on their way to the Super 14 title, dismissed the notion that player fatigue could be a factor.
"Once you get to the Boks you are excited and want to contribute to the team," Matfield said, adding that he was :"feeling great".
He said there's still a long season to go and they are only halfway through the year.
"You can't talk about fatigue now, we are 100 percent ready to play."
The Bok vice-captain said victory on Saturday will give the Boks a huge psychological boost, looking towards next year's World Cup in New Zealand.
"The French will be one of the contenders at next year’s World Cup, so we have to try and get a mental edge over them."
By Jan de Koning