Matfield to captain Boks at World Cup send-off

Veteran lock Victor Matfield will captain South Africa in probably his last appearance for the Springboks when they take on Argentina in the World Cup third place play-off on Friday.

 The 38-year-old Matfield, making his 127th Test appearance, replaces Fourie du Preez as skipper after the scrum-half suffered a tournament-ending injury in last weekend's 20-18 semi-final defeat by New Zealand at Twickenham.

 Matfield, a World Cup-winner in 2007, has come in for Lood de Jager in the second row, with Ruan Pienaar taking over from du Preez in the only other change to the Springboks' starting line-up for the game at London's Olympic Stadium.

 Matfield retired after the 2011 World Cup but returned last year with the Bulls following encouragement from South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer to resume his career.

 Second row great Matfield made his Test debut on June 30, 2001 against Italy.

 His Test career, which on Friday will be 14 years and 122 days, will be the longest in Springbok rugby.

 But fellow 2007 World Cup-winner du Preez did not even make the bench after suffering a swollen eye and broken tooth against the All Blacks.

 Du Preez, also persuaded to return by Meyer, said after the semi-final that it was probably his last Springbok appearance.

 De Jager, who started that match, has been struggling with a tendon injury in his foot. He is now among the replacements, with Rudy Paige the reserve scrum-half following Pienaar's promotion.

Shortly after the semi-final loss, Meyer dismissed the importance of the 'bronze final'.

"It does not mean anything to me," he said.