News

Matfield proud of effort

Saturday 05th July 2008

Speed Kills: South Africa wing Bryan Habana gets past Sitiveni Sivivatu

South Africa lock Victor Matfield is hoping for a swift turnaround in fortunes following his side's 18-9 Tri-Nations defeat to New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday.

The two teams meet again in Dunedin next weekend, and Matfield believes the Boks can draw plenty of positives from their showing at the Westpac Stadium.

The world champions worked Bryan Habana over the line for a try in the first half and were only one point adrift at the break.

But New Zealand steadied the ship and secured victory by scoring ten unanswered points in the second half.

"We were happy with our first half and feeling confident, but we came out after the break and couldn't hold onto the ball for long enough," said Matfield.

"We need to get rid of the rust but hopefully we'll be better next week.

"It will be a tough week for us but we're proud of what we did and looking forward to playing them again."

But South Africa captain John Smit, who was forced to leave the field with an injury, was singing a very different tune.

"That's as poor as we could play in the Tri Nations, we certainly can only get better from here," he said after the game.

"We certainly didn't deserve to win tonight. We have to be a bit more patient and composed. We've still got a lot more work to do."