Victor Matfield could come out of retirement, but only if Heyneke Meyer is indeed unveiled as the new Springbok coach on Friday.
Matfield hung up his boots at the end of last year after an illustrious career with the Springboks and Bulls but revealed this week that he would consider a return if Meyer calls on him.
Matfield, who is the most capped Springbok with 110, captained the Bulls to Super 14 and Currie Cup titles under Meyer’s mentorship and has great respect for Meyer and a return to rugby by Matfield is likely to lure the likes of Fourie du Preez, Bakkies Botha and Gurthrö Steenkamp back to the national team after they have left for greener pastures abroad.
If Matfield is to return under Meyer it would probably be for a season or two just for Meyer to get to grips with the structure at national level and it would also solve the big dilemma of who the next Springbok captain will be.
“Everyone knows what I think about Heyneke, but we must wait until Friday (tomorrow) before we talk about it. Let’s wait and see what happens, we will talk. Everything has consequences. Playing? I don’t know but we will see. It depends if he wants me. I really don’t know, it is difficult to say ...,” Matfield said.
The 34 year-old is certain to feature in Meyer’s Springbok management structure if he is not asked to play, probably as technical advisor or line-out consultant.
However, the fact that Matfield has already signed a lucrative television contract with SuperSport as one of their pundits will make Matfield’s dream of being the outright Springbok captain almost impossible.
On Wednesday, the Blue Bulls Company confirmed that the South African Rugby Union (Saru) had approached them for the services of their executive for rugby, Meyer, and talks between the parties were ongoing in Cape Town on Wednesday after an initial meeting at Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday.
Chief executive officer for the Blue Bulls Company, Barend van Graan, along with commercial manager Stephan van der Merwe met Saru to finalise the compensation deal for the three years still outstanding on Meyer’s contract with the Bulls.
But the Bulls could be in for more despair when Meyer takes over the reins as Springbok coach as an exodus of senior management is expected as they search for higher honours with the Springbok team.
Matfield is a certainty to join Meyer, while Bulls forwards coach Johann van Graan could be in the running for a position in Meyer’s management team as soon as his contract expires at the end of the year.
Meyer will continue to raid the Bulls kraal once he ascends to the Springbok coaching job with defence coach John McFarland and strength and conditioning coach Basil Carzis also likely to join the management team at the end of their contracts with the Bulls next year.
Speculation is also rife at Loftus Versfeld that high performance and business manager at the Blue Bulls, Ian Schwartz, could also be in line for a top job at Saru and Schwartz’s imminent departure could spell the end of the Bulls’ golden era of which Meyer was the supremo. - The Star