Victor Matfield offers thoughts on 2021 Lions Tour

During an interview with SA Rugby Podcast, 2007 World Cup winner Victor Matfield pointed out some noteworthy similarities, regarding the Springboks, between the 2009 Lions tour to South Africa and the imminent tour in 2021.

Matfield, who played a massive 127 tests for the Springboks, highlighted that, as in 2009, the Boks will take on the Lions as World Champions in 2021.

He also noted, however, that Siya Kolisi’s charges will enjoy one significant advantage that Matfield’s crop did not – that of cohesion in the coaching staff.

“In 2007, we beat England in the Rugby World Cup Final, and the Springboks did it last year too, so I think the build-up to the Test series is going to be amazing,” he said.

“Back in 2008, Peter de Villiers took over from Jake White, so we had to take a year to get used to a new way of doing things.

“But with the current team, I think things will stay pretty much the same – they will keep doing the things they’ve done under Rassie [Erasmus], the way they approach the game will be the same and I think the guys will be ready.”

With the forward battle enjoying perennial importance in the game of rugby, Matfield was encouraged by what he saw in 2019:

“Just look at what happened at the World Cup last year – England’s forwards smashed the All Blacks in the semifinal and New Zealand could not play their normal attacking brand, that everyone expected of them, because they got dominated on the gain line.

“Then England went into the final against us, and their forward pack failed to get the upper hand against our pack – the Springbok forwards actually killed them upfront.

“It just goes to show, once you get the front-foot ball, your forwards will decide the pace of the game and most of the time you will dominate the game as well.

“The Lions will come here with a big, strong pack but we’ve got unbelievable forwards, most of them still pretty young, and they’ve got all the knowledge, so it’s going to be a great series.”