Matfield quells comeback talk

Cape Town - Victor Matfield has moved fairly quickly on Twitter to seemingly pooh-pooh reports that he is contemplating a Springbok comeback.

Some newspapers reported on Thursday that the 34-year-old veteran of three World Cups - including triumphant 2007 - and Bulls legend would consider returning to the fray if Heyneke Meyer, as is widely anticipated, is named new national coach by SARU on Friday.

The reports also suggested he might “solve the problem of captaincy” now that John Smit has also stepped down from the Test picture.

But Matfield said in a tweet on Thursday: “Like I’ve always said. Don’t believe everything you read in the papers.”

And a little earlier he had replied to a follower, presumably on the comeback matter: “What paper?”

Nevertheless, the big lineout supremo and sometimes Bok skipper had been quoted earlier by the Cape Times and other dailies in that group as saying: “Playing, I don’t know ... but we will see. It depends if he (Meyer) wants me. I really don’t know.”

There are many who feel a new captain, one who will seem realistically able to lead the troops up to and into the next World Cup, must be appointed, with Stormers leader Schalk Burger, 28, considered a frontrunner.

Matfield’s mantle as lineout ace is also fairly likely to be entrusted henceforth to the unusually lanky, 2.08-metre Andries Bekker, also of the 2011 Super Rugby SA conference-winning Stormers.

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