The richest thread in this Fan Van episode with Victor Matfield is his account of how he became the first player to take full ownership of calling and running a lineout. He traces it back to Swys de Bruin at the Griquas, who told him to stop waiting for the hooker or scrum-half and simply take over — calling every movement, every dummy, every variation himself. When Matfield arrived at the Springboks shortly after, André Markgraff pulled him into his first lineout session alongside Mark Andrews and Johan Ackermann and told him to show the senior players what he'd been doing at Griquas. He describes the core principle as speed over complexity: "The quicker you in, the quicker you're out" — and he's pointed in his criticism of the modern game, arguing that pre-calls and cancellation codes have tipped the balance back to defenders by giving them time to read and react. His preference was always to force the opposition to respond to him, not the other way around.
Victor Matfield: How he reinvented the lineout — and why modern teams are doing it wrong
Matfield reveals how he became the first player to fully own lineout calling, traces it to Swys de Bruin at Griquas, and argues modern teams have overcomplicated what should be built on speed.
Matfield reveals how he became the first player to fully own lineout calling, traces it to Swys de Bruin at Griquas, and argues modern teams have overcomplicated what should be built on speed.
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