Thanks Victor, but it's time to let go

During a weekend in which just about every Six Nations team boasted a South African in their squad, the Saffers back home were enthusing about the return to the game of a 36-year-old "saviour".

Ordinarily, having your compatriots make other national teams is supposed to be a nod to your talent reserves.

But back at the source, our main preoccupation was whether Victor Matfield's creaky old frame could still take big hits at the cutting edge of professional rugby.

The explanation for the Bok legend's comeback is that, after boring us to distraction as a TV pundit, and doing a great job as the Bulls' attack coach, he decided he wanted to join Os du Randt as the only other South African to win the World Cup twice.

What was omitted from the official story was that Fourie du Preez had made a successful comeback to the Bok team, and coach Heyneke Meyer had paved the way in the public's mind by dropping broad hints that there was a No5 lock drought in the country.

So when he should have been satisfied with a 110-Test cap career and winning the World Cup, a series against the British & Irish Lions, the Tri-Nations (twice), three Super rugby titles and four Currie Cup titles, Matfield decided if best mate Du Preez could do it, so could he.

I am deliberately reducing the small matter of the Boks trying to win a World Cup to the level of a side bet between two friends because this is essentially about Matfield's ego.

One would imagine that, if there really is a crisis of No5 locks, then the likes of Pieter-Steph du Toit, Grant Hattingh, Lood de Jager, Franco van der Merwe, Flip van der Merwe and David Bulbring should be auditioning to fill the Matfield-sized hole in the next two seasons.

Deciding to fill the void with Matfield himself sounds clever. But it is less a case of thinking out of the box than reinventing the wheel, especially when it is a lesser Matfield we are talking about.

Many forget that, by the time Matfield stopped playing, he had primarily become a lineout player and little else.

Du Toit, the leading candidate to replace him before the comeback, is a hybrid of the two modern locks with an incredible work rate and defence - things Matfield wasn't by the time he quit the game.

What we are doing is holding to ransom the development of the next batch of middle of the lineout jumpers just so Matfield can prove to himself and a handful of friends that he's still got it.

If he really wanted to help, he would have offered his services to Meyer as a lineout consultant.

Should the former Bulls captain make it to next year's World Cup - which is likely because Meyer's fingerprints are all over the comeback - the Boks could possibly have 11 players in their squad from the 2007 winners.

At this rate, Sharks CEO John Smit must reckon a return to rugby might be a better way to make a living than squinting at balance sheets.

Matfield's comeback appears to be essentially about installing himself as the greatest Springbok by overtaking Smit's Test caps and equalling Du Randt's World Cup double.

But where does that place the Boks if he also wants to do it as captain?

It is easy to underestimate Jean de Villiers' role in helping the Boks return an 83% win ratio last season, so the temptation to replace him with the coach's pet will be great.

But that may well undermine the progress made over the last two years.