Matfield: 'Worst week of my life'

The veteran of four World Cups was on the pitch when Japan beat the Springboks 34-32 in Brighton, widely regarded as the biggest upset of all time.

The 38-year-old lock was part of the leadership group of the team which made some questionable decisions before a last-minute try from Japan saw them snatch a dramatic victory against the two-time champions.

Matfield is currently playing in the Premiership for Northampton Saints, and in a recent interview with BT Sports he admitted that the following week was the worst of his life.

"I must say it was probably the worst week of my life, the week after Japan.

"After that game, going into the changeroom, everyone just sitting there, no-one saying anything. The team manager walks up to me and says 'you are the most senior guy, you have to go talk to the media', what do you say to the media?"

However, despite the pain, Matfield is now able to recognise the significance of the result in terms of the growth of world rugby.

"It just shows what rugby is about, and Ithink it is great for world rugby as well that you can see a team like Japan come up and beat the Springboks.

"That same Springbok team came within two points of beating the All Blacks, the world champs in the semifinal," he said.

He explained that another positive from the result was that it forced the Springboks to pull together, which saw them come close to beating eventual champions New Zealand in their semifinal.

"When we got back to the hotel we just said 'Listen, this happened. It is probably the worst thing that has ever happened to us but we can still get something out of this World Cup'.

"After that I must say we had the most incredible five weeks of guys pulling together, going in the same direction and we came two points from beating the All Blacks in the semifinal," he added.

SOURCE: tvnz.co.nz