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John Kirwan & Victor Matfield Reveal The Greatest Game They Ever Played · Rugby Rivals - Sir John Kirwan & Victor Matfield

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  Right, welcome to the bonus episode of rugby rivals. I'm going to talk to
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  to esteemed gentlemen, Victor Mattfield and Sir John Kerwin about the greatest games of rugby
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  they played in. And we'll start with you Victor, the greatest game you played.
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  Unfortunately, there's not a springboard game. I think there's probably two games that's
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  sitting out for me. The first was the game in the semi-final in 2002. Myself and Bucky's
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  were youngsters. And we played in the semi-final, we've ended fourth in the curry cup that year.
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  And we went up against Mark Andrews and Steve Ethaton, that was just legends of the game.
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  Mark were close to 80 teeth matches for South Africa. And no one gave us a chance and
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  Bucky's in myself just at an outstanding game. And that almost just put up on the map and said,
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  listen, we're really to take over from the older god. So that was a very special game for me
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  personally. And then the greatest game I've ever played in was super 14 final 2007 in Durban.
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  I mean, we never thought you were in super rugby. I mean, the New Zealanders were just too strong
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  and the bulls were always lost in the competition. So I mean, it took us a few years to get to
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  two semi-finals. And then in 2006, we really said, listen, this is the year. We've won four
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  curry cups at that stage. We had a very mature team, a lot of top springbox in that team and we
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  said, listen, we had to do this. I mean, we went through that season, we had to beat the
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  reds by I think 87 points to get to a home semi-final. We beat them by 94 or 93 points.
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  And then in that final, I mean, didn't play our best. We're out of the game.
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  Franstein had opportunity to kick a goal that would have won it for the sharks. He missed it and
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  with two minutes to go, we kicked off. They kicked the ball back and we just kept it for like
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  three or four minutes. And Brian Urbana came off his wing, cut back and scored under the balls.
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  And yeah, there we go. I still had to slot the kick. But I mean, that moment, I mean, three minutes
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  before all the bull fans were leaving and then all of a sudden, you just saw all the bulls
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  fans coming back into the stadium and celebrating. So I mean, for me, that 2007 final was just
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  the most special. What was it like after the game in the dressing rooms?
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  Well, the funny thing is we actually, it was probably at hour and a half where we then
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  going to the change room. We just sat on the grass. We just sat there like little hurdles,
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  few of us. And then Hainikku will come, sit there, gas brought beer from the change room to the
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  field. And I always tell people, a lot of the time it's not that moment in the game. But it's
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  after we had the same 2007 after the World Cup on the Sunday, we went to like a tent right in front
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  of the Eiffel Tower. And we were 12 of the guys, the older guys, just sitting on the grass,
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  having a glass of champagne with us. We did it. And I mean, that night was safe. On the field,
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  we sat there for an hour and a half. Just taking it in, we did it. We couldn't believe we did
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  achieve this goal of us. And then I still got a photo somewhere where I was lying in the
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  bath at the hotel because of our wife's game over as well. With a super 14 trophy just lying
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  in my bath before we went through the function later. But yeah, that was just an unbelievable
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  evening. OK, what about you? What's the greatest game you played in?
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  Yeah, mine's not with the old Black Sea though. Well, I mean, when you talk like this, when you ask
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  me that question, Ricardo, I sort of think of two things. So I think my favourite game was the
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  Shield Challenge of 85. We're just an amazing game of rugby, the two best provincial sides. Victor,
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  we hadn't, we'd gone down there in 83 and lost the shield or didn't gain the shield when
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  we lost it. We didn't win it. And 85 with just this game of really two halves where it was just
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  the best of the best playing each other. Stadium was full. I mean, it was over packed. So people
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  on the sideline was an amazing atmosphere. We got up early, scored just after half time,
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  and we're sort of really dominating. And then boy, did they come back? And we sort of want to
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  all people from Christchurch will still tell you that we won it illegally because I tapped the ball
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  dead. Just just explain that moment, Jake, because you know, Victor, I think it was from a Wayne
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  Smobile up and under. Yeah, so I mean, it was, you know, there's a few points in it,
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  game sort of over just about and Wayne puts up a massive high kick and Lindsay Harris, the
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  fullback. We had this back in the day, we had this thing where I'd run in front so that he could
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  catch the ball cleanly. It was illegal, but anyway, Mr. and the ball went up and we're in our own
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  goal, right? And I just battered the ball dead. And in those days, you're allowed to do that,
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  and it's, it's not a five yard scrum. You sure are, Ricardo, it was in goal. You know, so
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  it's in there. I've been able to try. And you know, got these days. Yeah, well, now it would be
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  you exactly, but it was the end of the game. So yeah, can you remember, like Victor did before,
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  you know, just like we all saw the footage on the game, but what about for you as a player when
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  you'd won the shield? Was there a moment for you? Yeah, same. For me, it was the relief.
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  There's a couple of things about winning. That's really interesting. And I think what Victor's
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  talking about a very, very important moments for players, like you've got to take those moments
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  because the one thing that really surprised me was the Monday after the World Cup, like I was so
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  incredibly flat, right? I just thought, wow, what's next? What do I do now? It was incredibly,
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  it was our moment because you worked so hard for this goal. And I think what Victor said,
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  any players that are listening to this really take your time the day of or the next day,
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  because then the Monday, man, it's like you get this really flat feeling because you've got
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  a redress or your goals again and you've got to go shit. Let's go again. You know, you work so
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  hard for these goals. So yeah, I remember I remember in the World Cup the next day,
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  sort of sitting around like Victor said, just us, just the players, and you know, and your loved ones
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  just going, wow, we did it all the safer, all the hard work, all the sacrifice, you know? I think
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  I think with the with the Ranfully Shield, the game I was talking about before, the Elation was
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  different. That was just a massive party, right? It was sort of something that we'd wanted to do,
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  but it was also part of a season, we still had other games. We went on tour after that, you know?
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  So that wasn't as, wasn't one of those final moments like Victor's talking about, but yeah,
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  you remember little things, I don't remember the whole game, but I remember little things during
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  those games, but certainly the feeling afterwards for sure. I think sometimes the worst thing,
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  it's special like a World Cup final is you win the game, you go back to the hotel, you just want
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  to celebrate with your friends and your family and not friends, your teammates and your family,
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  and then you arrive at the hotel and there's just 100 other people from the president to it,
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  and yes, it's nice because it's on anything, but you just want to sit with the guys that you
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  spend four years working to achieve something and just have that moment and just go through everything,
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  where were we? What happened in this four years to get to this point? And I think once you get
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  that opportunity, just to go through that and just to celebrate, I mean, that's why I mean,
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  my book was called The Journey, that journey of four years with special guys, years, of course,
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  there were changes, some new players coming in, but it's a four year journey to achieve something
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  very special and just to almost sit there and go through all of that, that makes it so special.
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  I think another thing for me too, Ricardo, people need to do that in real life now. I mean,
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  life is so busy, man, like everyone's so busy all the time, everyone's got to do list. I talk to
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  people about making sure you celebrate those little wins along the way and even in your normal life,
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  if you achieve something at work or you have a milestone in the family, you've got to start a
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  stopman and really enjoy those moments. I think that's really, really important for me to help
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  with you. And get a brandy and celebrate it. Get a brandy, get a brandy, exactly.
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  Another thing, Ricardo, that I have to mention really made is the Springbok tour. As soon as you
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  said to me, favorite games, you know, for me, the Springbok tour, because I did not go on the
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  Cavaliers tour. And I think I've spoken to you about this before. You know, one of the hardest
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  decisions about not going on the Cavaliers tour was I could never, I might not ever, ever play against
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  the Springboks in my whole life. And if you're a rugby player, if you're an all-backed, right? That's
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  like. And then so in 92, when the tour got put on late, you know, we were touring Australia for
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  seven weeks, or you were there, Ricardo. So, you know what I mean? And then going back to South Africa
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  and getting the opportunity later on in my career to play, you know, I'll never forget running out
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  in Joburg at Alice Park Victor and the crowd was silent. You know, I still get, you know, I still get,
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  you know, hairs on the back of my neck stand up. And, you know, to play the Springboks on their
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  soil and to get a win, you know, and they were still coming back into the international rugby. So,
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  there probably wasn't that fear on them. But for me, to be able to go back, see South Africa,
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  you know, we went to a game park and we saw a whole lot of rocks for a long time, Victor. We didn't
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  see any animals for a while. And then there was a draft standing at the gate when we left.
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  But it was just an amazing moment in time. It was amazing to be part also of South African history
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  to a certain extent. So, for me, being able to play against the Springboks, and then luckily we
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  played a few more times. But I was at the end of my career, you know what I mean? I remember the first
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  game on that tour was in Durban against Natal. And I remember talking to a few players, and there
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  was this real fear, not fear, but it's like the fear of the unknown. Like, these guys are giants,
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  they're going to be massive, you know, Batman and all those guys, you know, just, you know, and it was
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  only when you ran out onto the field and actually started playing against them, that it,
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  every, all the myth disappeared and they actually were just normal people that you could play against.
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  Exactly. Yeah, it's an amazing tour. And I remember on the bus, you know, driving them from the airport,
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  the whole of Durban was out on the streets just applauding as the bus went through. And never
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  seen anything like it, you know, it was just airport. Airport was full with fans like we got
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  there. We thought, what are these, what are these people doing here? And they were there to welcome
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  us. So it was pretty, it was a pretty special time. I mean, I'm spoken to you guys about that,
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  that barbecue we had with, you know, Declare Mandela and Bulger down in a, in a mine. So it was,
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  it was a really, really, that was a very, very special trip personally. So I always remember that.
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  The nice thing is, when you're on the field, you'll be booed by South African fans. But when
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  you're out in the street, they just love the all blacks. And they would almost pay more to do a
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  breakfast or a dinner with all blacks plays than this South African fans because they
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  not used to. And they want to hear more from them and they want to hear about their culture. So,
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  yeah, there's a big love hatred relationship between the two countries, but I think
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  always a lot of respect for each other. You know what, the respect I already enjoy is when I
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  asked this question, Victor, you told me the answer was the Springbok victory and gets the all blacks
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  in 2009. So I researched that and then you gave me a different answer on the show. So,
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  talked to me about that 2009, Victor and Hamilton, because, uh,
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  a little bit of Francois Stainey ticked to the penalties from about 60 metres that day.
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  Yeah, I think we were fortunate to beat New Zealand the previous year in Dunedin.
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  I was fortunate to kept in the day as well. And that for us was unbelievable, because that was our
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  first time. But I think 2009, beating the all blacks twice in South Africa and then going over
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  there to play them a third time and to beat them three times in one year was like a big old
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  for us. And the only guy that hasn't beat the New Zealand, he knew Zealand was John Smith. So,
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  normally John was never nervous. That we, he was so nervous and we were all in that
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  minute, our nation's this one. We just need one point. We don't need to beat them,
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  Kong Dan. And he was just going mad at us, making jokes about it. And, um, I mean, we came in
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  late. We only arrived on the, I think the Friday morning in Hamilton. There was a lot of media
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  attention around it, um, with Peter DeVelius saying this, you know, we're not training a lot.
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  We played a lot of golf in Australia because it was a long season. We played the lines.
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  It was really a long season. So, we really didn't do a lot and it was just so much easier to spin
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  a week off in the Gold Coast rather than Hamilton. And, um, but I mean, he arrived at the airport.
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  The mayo was there with a little booklet of everything you can do in Hamilton. If you don't
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  train, and I mean, by going into that game, and I mean, that was a fantastic, all-black
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  side as well. If you mention all the names in that team, and I mean, it went right down to the
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  wire. Again, there was a kick at the end when it bounced a little bit right. I think Richie would
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  have scored, uh, Franstein kicking those three kicks. Uh, I think we still believe that he was one
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  kick and I think you need to go look at it that we thought was short. If you look at the slow
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  mode, goes in front of the polls and they gave, gave it, uh, say again, we win.
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  No. Well, I think that wasn't a kick. If we took those three points off,
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  yeah, but that doesn't count now. It's off to the game. It's like JK knocking the ball up.
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  They still won. Um, but I mean, that night just lost it. We talk about the quiet moments,
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  but I that night was one of those night that just went mad. Yeah, I can imagine.
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  Remember, I remember how offended we all were that you stayed on the gold coast. You stayed in
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  Australia and then came late. They were very upset. And then the funniest thing is after the game,
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  um, we went into the media and they came to Peter the Villiers and they said, listen,
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  I need to say sorry. I just want to really say sorry. Uh, the mayor was there on Friday,
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  um, giving us all this thing, but I saw this. Another thing that you can do, you're in Hamilton,
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  and the media was like, yes, yes. And it's just you can win the trinations here in Hamilton.
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  Now, you know, the rivalry is the live and well victor. Now, you know, and I love that sort of
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  stuff. I love that sort of banter. I think it's so good for the game. You know, there's not enough of
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  that anymore. Not enough of that anymore. Bring it back. Yeah. Oh, that's the whole idea of the
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  charge I killed and I've noticed.