Springboks boss Heyneke Meyer has brought Matfield back in a bid to send a bench full of closers into a contest he fully expects to be decided by a single score.
'I came back to be at the World Cup,' said Matfield, who retired in 2011 but reversed that decision three years later. 'I believe this is a team that can win the World Cup and I want to be part of it.
'It's going to be a big occasion and one in which I am privileged to be involved.
'If you look at all the big games - especially between South Africa and New Zealand - they go down to the wire every time.Those last five or 10 minutes are very important.
'They are all about composure and doing the right thing - keeping calm and putting pressure on the other team.
'The last five or 10 minutes will be crucial I'm 100 per cent sure.'
Matfield retired after the 2011 World Cup, moving into punditry and coaching, but quickly realised he had hung up his boots prematurely.
Now 38, the 2007 World Cup-winner joked he could even stretch his impressive longevity to the next global gathering, in Japan.
'Well I'm hoping they'll give me another contract,' joked Matfield, when light-heartedly asked if he could push his career to 2019.
'In all seriousness, I'm just hoping I've got two more games for the Springboks.'
- Daily Mail
