Pretoria : South Africa lock Victor Matfield will celebrate his 100th Test appearance in the Tri-Nations encounter against Australia today surrounded by 60,000 familiar faces... his own.
The 33-year-old Springboks vice-captain will become the third player from his country to reach a century of caps when he steps out on his home field of Loftus Versfeld and his sponsors have ensured the occasion will be marked in unique style.
Masks depicting the bearded lineout specialist will be handed to all spectators arriving at the stadium in Pretoria and Matfield is looking forward to joining skipper John Smit and kicking coach Percy Montgomery as South African test centurions.
"It will be great to play my 100th test at Loftus, it has been a great place for me. It's like a second home, I have a lot of friends there and I've had some unbelievable times there," Matfield told reporters yesterday.
"The team were already wearing some of the masks on the bus, which was a bit scary. It's going to be very special playing at Loftus and with the crowd and the field, hopefully it can inspire us to win because that's what's most important."
New Zealand clinched the Tri-Nations with a 29-22 victory over South Africa in Johannesburg last week and while Matfield is hoping the hosts can end a run of four straight defeats this weekend, he is already planning a future away from the pitch.
"I think the (2011) World Cup will be the last of me, I'll play no more than that. You can never say never but at the moment that's the decision," Matfield said.
Player arrested on murder charge
South African professional rugby player Bees Roux has been arrested on suspicion of beating a police officer to death, a police spokeswoman said yesterday.
"He has been arrested. It is alleged that he assaulted the officer who died," the spokeswoman said.
Police said the officer was found lying in a street of Pretoria in the predawn hours of yesterday. The officer was taken to hospital but died due to extensive injuries, emergency service provider Netcare said in a statement.
Roux, 28, is a 115kg prop with the Bulls who has played professional rugby for about eight years.
