It’s all white noise … That’s Springbok legend Victor Matfield’s assessment regarding the war of words, the jibes and jives and tic-tac-toe this week between the Springboks and All Blacks, their supporters and social-media trolls.
The past week, in the build-up to Saturday's first Test in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry at Ellis Park (kick-off 5pm), has seen plenty of narratives spoken into the ether by fans and pundits — narratives regarding the speed of play, narratives on the legalities or presumed illegalities at the breakdown, and narratives of attempts to influence match officials through unofficial means; narratives, narratives, naar-itives …
Matfield, who played 127 Tests for the Boks, believes that all that talk will amount to little outside the tramlines of the rugby field come the showdown in Johannesburg.
“We always called it white noise,” Matfield said, in an exclusive interview with The National, at a Springbok Legends breakfast on Thursday.
“(As a team) you've got your focus. Whatever's talked about in the team room just between the players, that's what's important. So, whatever's going out on the outside, you don't really listen to that.
“The coaches sometimes will play towards that to put the other teams under pressure, but I don't think it’s important.”
For Matfield, the ebb and flow of a rugby game is a right imposed by the dominant team, and not an outright privilege that any team should enjoy just because they have arrived at a match. In that, there is a simplistic beauty to the game — a difference in approach that only enriches the spectacle and the eventual triumph.
For the Boks, Matfield insists that approach relies on set-piece supremacy.
“I think the important thing is that's what's so nice about rugby: everyone's got their own tactics, everyone's got their own way of winning games, and ways to impose their game plan onto the other team.
“So, yes, of course, the set piece is important for us. Sometimes we want to slow it down to make sure we're ready to go into that space and dominate it. But, with the team we've got — if you look at the backs we've got — we also play a fast game.
“(Bok coach) Rassie Erasmus, three years ago with the Currie Cup, he was the guy that pushed the provinces regarding the amount of time between set pieces — the breaks to be shorter — because he wanted more ball in play.”
“So, I think the All Blacks are looking for something. Although the set-piece is very important for us and we don't want to get away from that, we can play a fast game as well.”
Whilst Matfield is confident in the Boks’ set-piece this weekend and for the subsequent three Tests thereafter against the New Zealanders, he is equally chuffed with the backline selected for the match in Joburg. Erasmus has picked a fleet-footed unit, one with plenty of X-factor as well.
Grant Williams and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will combine as the half-back pairing, with the experienced centre pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel on their shoulder. The outside backs will be marshalled by the equally impressive Damian Willemse at fullback, with Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wings.
“The All Blacks want to play a fast game,” Matfield explained, “and if we give them quick ball, they will be dangerous.
“If we can slow them down, break them down, and if our ball can be quick, then you can get guys like Sacha, Damian, Cheslin and the boys into the game. It's all about winning those breakdowns, but also having discipline and not giving away penalties.”
Whilst that is indeed an impressive line-up, Matfield and Co will no doubt hope that the Boks remain mindful of not overplaying. That was certainly the case at Ellis Park last year when the Boks lost to Australia 38-22, the Wallabies recording their first victory at the grand rugby cathedral for the first time since 1963.
There was a similar “narrative” three years prior to that, in 2022, when the Boks fell into the trap of playing the All Blacks’ game in a disappointing 31-27 loss at the same venue.
Should that happen again, there will certainly be a shift in the narrative around the Bok camp — one from excited optimism to incredulity.