Pretoria - The Bulls have confirmed on Friday that Victor Matfield will make his return to the playing field for the the Pretoria-based franchis in the Super Rugby tournament.
Matfield is a former Springbok captain with 110 Test caps behind his name – only John Smit, with 111 caps, has played more Tests for South Africa.
He also lead the Bulls to all three their Vodacom Super Rugby titles, in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
The Blue Bulls have offered Matfield a contract for 2014 and 2015, which he has gladly accepted as he still harbours dreams of representing the Springboks.
The BBC have also been pro-active in securing Matfield’s signature as coach for 2016 and 2017 – a deal he agreed to after he was granted permission to return to the playing field after being part of the union’s coaching structures in 2013.
“To have someone with Victor’s experience available for selection, as well as his expertise on the training field, is a win-win situation for us,” said Frans Ludeke.
“He will not only add value as a senior player on the field, but will also continue to mentor younger players with his vast experience of rugby at all levels.
“Victor has been a superb servant of Springbok and Bulls rugby and he has shown on the training field in the last couple of months that he is still hungry to succeed at the top levels of the game.”
Matfield will make his return to the field during Saturday’s match between the Bulls and Stormers in Polokwane.
"He will play off the bench.
Matfield is a former Springbok captain with 110 Test caps behind his name – only John Smit, with 111 caps, has played more Tests for South Africa.
He also lead the Bulls to all three their Vodacom Super Rugby titles, in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
The Blue Bulls have offered Matfield a contract for 2014 and 2015, which he has gladly accepted as he still harbours dreams of representing the Springboks.
The BBC have also been pro-active in securing Matfield’s signature as coach for 2016 and 2017 – a deal he agreed to after he was granted permission to return to the playing field after being part of the union’s coaching structures in 2013.
“To have someone with Victor’s experience available for selection, as well as his expertise on the training field, is a win-win situation for us,” said Frans Ludeke.
“He will not only add value as a senior player on the field, but will also continue to mentor younger players with his vast experience of rugby at all levels.
“Victor has been a superb servant of Springbok and Bulls rugby and he has shown on the training field in the last couple of months that he is still hungry to succeed at the top levels of the game.”
Matfield will make his return to the field during Saturday’s match between the Bulls and Stormers in Polokwane.
"He will play off the bench.