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O'Connell knows Matfield's secrets; Rugby 365

Started by Just_win3 REPLIES94 VIEWS· 04 Nov 2014, 22:54
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JW
Just_winCaptain18,570 posts
04 Nov 2014, 22:54
#1
04 Nov 2014, 22:54#1
Victor Matfield has stated his admiration for Irish captain and lock Paul O'Connell who he believes has an insight into how he runs the line-out. Matfield has long been regarded as the line-out maestro of both the Springboks and of world Rugby, however the veteran feels that O'Connell may have picked up some South African-based tips and tricks from current Western Province Director of Rugby and former Ireland forwards coach, Gert Smal. "I think Paul O'Connell is a fantastic player, I have said it before, I think he is probably the best players I have played against in my career," Matfield said from Dublin "He is also a student of the line-out, you can see that he puts in a lot of hours analysing and preparing, getting his whole unit ready for the weekend. "It is always tough going up against him. Part of O'Connell's analysis comes thanks to Smal who Matfield believes taught the Irish skipper how he thinks at line-out time. "I also think when Gert was here, he gave a lot of insight into how I think about the line-outs to Paul, so that makes it more difficult. Although the additional understanding of Matfield's game is set to make the challenge greater, the Bok veteran is still looking forward to going up against his nemesis at the helm of the Irish pack. "It is always a great battle against him and he has some great jumpers with him in that unit, we know it is going to be very tough and we will have to be accurate in what we do because they will definitely put pressure on us at line-out time." Matfield has said his team are looking to be perfect against the Irish at the scrum and line-out' the hosts have impressed at set-piece time with a 100 percent record with their scrums. "I think we have very high standards for ourselves when it comes to set-pieces, we felt after the Championship that we were close but we were not there yet - or exactly where we want to be," Matfield continued "It was good to have these two weeks [training before departing for the tour] and hopefully we can take it onto the field and be very accurate in whatever we do.
JW
Just_winCaptain18,570 posts
04 Nov 2014, 22:58
#2
04 Nov 2014, 22:58#2
Knowing what a bloke intends to do & being able to stop him are two different things. 
I am sure Beeno will agree that maestro matfield is a force to be reckoned with in terms of his leadership, line out ability & his ability to play out on the wing (even when there is a scrum).
sharkbok
sharkbokCaptain23,293 posts
04 Nov 2014, 23:36
#3
04 Nov 2014, 23:36#3
The Boks lineout is the best in the world with Matfield calling the shots. The kick offs are also very organised. 
The Boks have the best set piece in the world, and with our backline improving with each match things are looking interesting for the World Cup. 
The Boks maybe have the hardest opening match, but it should be a good bench mark for the World Cup
SH
ShezzaPro2,471 posts
04 Nov 2014, 23:44
#4
04 Nov 2014, 23:44#4
 No we don't, AB's have the best lineout in the world and either the Argentinians or Irish have the best scrum.
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