Western Force wary of legendary Matfield

On paper, the Bulls are wounded, weary, and ripe for the picking.

But with legendary lock Victor Matfield set to fill in as captain, the Western Force are on alert heading into Saturday’s Super Rugby clash in Perth.

The Bulls have slumped to ninth spot on the table following three straight defeats on their Australasian tour.

The loss of scrumhalf Piet van Zyl (knee) and skipper Flip van der Merwe (suspension) has added to the Bulls’ woes.

Matfield has been named skipper in van der Merwe’s absence, and the Force are well aware of the inspirational qualities of the Springboks great.

“At the age of 36 to be playing at this level, it’s unbelievable,” Force lock Sam Wykes said of Matfield, who came out of retirement this season after a two-year break.

“Any Bulls team that has him leading them is going to grow in confidence every time.

“Hearing a speech from him before the game has got to be pretty amazing.

“Some of the things he’s done in games, like chip and chases and scoring at Test match level, is special.

“After the game I’ll still be in awe shaking his hand saying ‘It was a privilege to play against you’.”

Wykes said the Force had leaned heavily on former Bulls lock Wilhelm Steenkamp this week, especially in their efforts to interpret the Bulls’ line-out calls.

“He’s definitely given a bit of insight as to how they play,” Wykes said.

“I haven’t really been learning any Afrikaans, so I’ll just leave it to him.”

The Force’s five-game winning run was brought to an abrupt end by the Melbourne Rebels last week.

Problems at the scrum and line-out hampered the Force’s efforts in that game, and Wykes said they couldn’t afford a repeat effort against a Bulls side renowned for their work at the set pieces, especially with Matfield dominating lineouts.

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