Matfield ap[pointed as Lions Forwards coach

The following from News24:-
"Former Springbok lock Victor Matfield was on Thursday confirmed as the Lions' new forwards coach.

The announcement was made by the Lions Rugby Company on Thursday.

Swys de Bruin officially took over as Lions head coach on Thursday following the departure of Johan Ackermann to Gloucester in England.

With De Bruin now the head mentor, JP Ferreira is the Lions' new attack coach, while former under-19 coach, Joey Mongalo, takes over from Ferreira as defence coach.

The 40-year-old Matfield played 127 Tests for the Springboks between 2001 and 2015.

He is also a Bulls legend, having won three Super Rugby titles with the Pretoria franchise, but now looks set to join their rivals across the Jukskei River.

Matfield and De Bruin previously worked together as player and coach when both were at Griquas in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Since retiring after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Matfield has appeared as a pundit on SuperSport.

Both Matfield and Mongalo will join the Lions immediately and they will stay on for the duration of the Currie Cup.

 

No involvement has been confirmed beyond the completion of the tournament."

At least the appointment was as forward coach and not like in the case of the Bulls as attack coach.   He flopped in the latter regard and the Bulls could not get rid of him fast enough.

This seems to be a trial period appointment as it is until the end of the CC and we will have to see whether the appointment would be renewed in respect of Super Rugby next year.

 

The best lineout forward in the world- perhaps ever, and most experienced Bok of all time.
I think he will add allot of value to the coaching team.  He does need more experience as a coach.
The Bulls overplayed him in 2015- and he was not 100% for the Springboks that year. In 2014- he played some of his best rugby ever- and should not have been overplayed.

 hahaha
you must know how badly the bulls didn't want him!

I thought Matfield was a back:)

 @just_win
Spot on..
he was a back, but he tried to convert to lock.

 Ah the Mighty Matfield is back ! He of the Leonine mane !Is he playing as well ? Now that would be stupendous !

Well it seems even though some morons don't rate him.....the Lions do.

Interesting appointment.
Let's hope Mostert's mojo is not overshadowed by the guru's presence.
Could turn out to be an excellent appointment. But the Lions forwards do play a very specific game and it won't take much well meaning yet negative influence to unravel them. One hope's that will not be the case. 
Mix I've never met anyone who doesn't rate Vic. Pigeon chest n' all.

 Well we know Matfield will improve their lineouts and rolling maul. In terms of scrums, that's more of an open question. I would be surprised if he improved them & he could do damage.

 
Terrible news.

He's been appointed to show our pack how it's done ... WTF??

He doesn't know how to scrum, that much is evident ... he doesn't know how to dominate the collision ... we've all seen smaller backs run right over the top of this weedy wimp.

He's a jolly jumper. Yes ... probably one of the best jolly jumpers we've had but that's where it end.

I can see him coming in as a lineout specialist ... but forwards coach? 

He can teach our boys how to get wiped out by smaller guys in the tackle. He can teach our boys how to contribute to a losing scrum.

The first very bad decision. I hope there aren't any more to come.



  

 He's either another in a long list of pretenders or he has the intellectual property and experience to advance the forwards. Funny thing is, when it really mattered in the RWC 2015 semi final both Kiwi locks out-jumped him by stealing the Bok's ball. Not good for a man touted a lineout specialist.

 The on ly thing wee matfield did well as a player was catch a ball. He didnt even need to be able to jump as his props tossed this lightweight fake high in the air.BUT that said I wonder about him as a coach. True his home union didn't want him and that is bothersome. Possibly because he wants to be chief honcho even without any coaching experience - who knows. Remember this, although wee matfiled shirked his duties as a lock he always had a lot to say about how what other members of the pack should be doing and how they should be compensating his lack of performance. I actually think ou matfiled, although a useless player. was a  very clever con man and had enough brain to craft a rugby career for himself without actually doing much playing!!! Quit e a feat when you think about it. That takes a brain. He even managed to dupe Dr Moz! In other words wee matfiled may have the intellectual abilities to be a fine coach. Time will tell

 
Exactly ... he wants to rule. He has a reputation for insubordination. An arrogance that even surpasses Mozart's. That and sowing the seeds of division.

He's bad news for the Lions.

Ackerman's hardly left the fold and already the wheels are falling off.

All we need now is for Fleck to be appointed in some role or another.