Victor Matfield names the five toughest opponents he ever faced

The Springboks legend faced the best rugby had to offer across 127 Tests, winning the Rugby World Cup in 2007 and becoming one of the game’s greatest ever lineout operators.

But five men stood out.

Speaking on the Rugby Rivals Pod, Matfield named the players who could hurt you, outthink you — or do both.

“There were players I respected enormously. Some because they could hurt you, some because they could outthink you, and a few because they could do both. Those were the difficult ones.”

The late All Blacks back-rower brought a level of physicality that left a mark.

“You didn’t need someone to point him out, you knew where he was. He had that presence about him, big shoulders, shaved head, and this look that made you think he wasn’t particularly interested in having a friendly afternoon.”

“If you had the ball he wanted to eat you, and if there was a loose ball with two or three bodies around it, he wasn’t going to stand back and watch.”

Matfield’s battles with fellow lock Ali Williams were often decided long before the ball was thrown.

“At that level, especially against New Zealand, it became a little game of chase. You changed the call because you thought they’d worked it out, then you wondered whether they knew you’d changed it.”

“Ali loved that stuff. He’d be looking across, watching where I was standing, watching our lifters, and I was doing exactly the same to him.”

Former England lock Shaw earned perhaps the most striking tribute of all.

“Simon Shaw was a horrible man to see standing on the other side of a lineout, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.”

“He was enormous. He had this combination of size and experience that made him awkward.”

“He might not be the first name everybody mentions when they remember the great players of that Lions tour, but as the men who actually had to play against him, we remember. I certainly do.”

Ireland great O’Connell got under Matfield’s skin with his preparation and intelligence.

“He wasn’t going to run over me, he wasn’t going to do something spectacular, he did his homework, and that worried me more.”

“That’s what a good lineout caller does to you, he gets inside your head a little bit, and Paul certainly got inside mine.”

The final name is no surprise.

“Richie was a pain, and I mean that with enormous respect.”

“You’d prepare all week for New Zealand, you’d talk about their backs, their kicking game, their lineout, then the match started and somehow Richie was everywhere.”

“If you’re asking me about the opponent who made you work for absolutely everything, Richie belongs right at the top.”

Rugby was not always Matfield’s main sport.

As a youngster, he was also a talented cricketer. He represented Far North Schools before an injury affected his batting and bowling.

That helped push him towards rugby instead. It proved to be a pretty good career change.

At 6ft 7in, Matfield became famous for dominating lineouts.

But years before becoming a Springbok giant, he spent three years singing in his school choir.

It is one of the more unexpected facts from his early life.

Matfield studied accounting at the University of Pretoria while his rugby career was taking off.

He managed to combine rugby and studying during his first two years.

However, he later admitted his third year proved too much and he did not finish the course.

Matfield retired from rugby after the 2011 World Cup.

He then worked in television and helped the Bulls as a lineout consultant.

But retirement did not last.

More than two years later, he returned to professional rugby in 2014. He was 36 years old when he launched his comeback.

Matfield produced one of his greatest displays on rugby's biggest stage.

He was named Man of the Match in the 2007 World Cup final as South Africa beat England 15-6.

His lineout work caused England huge problems. He even chased down Mathew Tait after the England centre's famous second-half break.

For a 6ft 7in lock, that was no small feat.