Saints farewell interview: Sam Matavesi
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He basked in the glory of a day that had been a long time coming for the black, green and gold and knew that when the dust settled, he could look forward to trying to repeat the glorious events during the following season.
But just five days later, things had totally changed.
An opportunity that he thought had been put to bed many months earlier reared its head again.
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And now, following a whirlwind couple of weeks, which also included his brother's stag do in Benidorm and the wedding, Matavesi is getting set for a big move.
His two-year deal with Lyon was announced on Wednesday, bringing the curtain down on a successful stint with Saints.
"It happened very fast," Matavesi explained. "It was the Thursday after the final.
"I'd had a chat with Lyon after the (2023) World Cup and I went in stupidly and said to the club (Saints) this, that and the other and nothing came of it so I came out looking like an idiot to be fair.
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Hide Ad"I agreed to drop it, stop any chats or thoughts of leaving from there, which I did.
"But then on that Thursday, my agent messaged me and said Lyon had come back in. I just put 'no, you're crazy' and then on the Friday he was like 'no, they're serious, they want to speak to you today'.
"I said there was no harm in chatting, in my head I thought 'I'm 32, I'd personally quite like a change' and that isn't anything to do with the club, the squad or anything. We've just won the league and it's a great bunch of boys who I enjoy going to work with every day.
"I just wanted a change for myself and my family, if that makes sense.
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Hide Ad"It's the right time because the kids (Matavesi has two children, one aged seven and the other aged eight) are still primary school age so they're not in secondary school, they haven't got those friends, they're not doing SATs and if we're going to do it, now is the best time.
"Because in a few years' time, when they're going to secondary school, I'd owe it to them to be pretty settled somewhere."
Digging deeper into Matavesi's decision, it's clear that finances - French clubs have already lured several Saints players, including Courtney Lawes and Lewis Ludlam, this summer - played some part, but that was not the main motivation.
"No word of a lie, it helps, but I'm not signing on for £15million," Matavesi said.
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Hide Ad"It's the taxes and the way the French do it in terms of giving you a budget for your car and rent and things like that.
"Overall, it will make a big difference.
"But it's just that after the World Cup, losing my dad and stuff, I just wanted a change - that's the biggest reason, to experience something new, something a bit more fresh."
Matavesi still had a year left on his Saints contract, but Lyon have paid a transfer fee to sign him.
"Overall for the Saints, it's not a bad bit of business," he said.
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Hide Ad"The hardest thing was that it happened so quick, so late in the season where people are pretty much 99 per cent done.
"I spoke with Shieldsy (Saints head of recruitment and retention Paul Shields) first because Dows (Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson) was on holiday and I said it was something I wanted to explore.
"There are a lot of factors with the medical and stuff but I spoke to Dows on the Monday before I went for a medical and it was a very hard conversation. He wasn't too happy and I totally understood, but he also knew my bit.
"I wasn't leaving because I didn't enjoy the coaching or the environment, I wanted to leave because I just felt it was the right time for a change.
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Hide Ad"I want to more than say that the club have been great from when I signed.
"I injured my hamstring two years ago and sort of missed half the year. If I'd stayed fit for that period, I'd have been there or thereabouts for 100 games at Saints and that was something deep down that I really wanted. I don't know why but there's small things like that you get in your head.
"The club have been great, they've allowed me to leave at a time when people don't really leave."
Matavesi certainly merits the chance to sample the delights of Lyon.
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Hide AdHe has been a real Saints success story since arriving as an under-the radar signing following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
"I literally walked in and I was like 'wow, there's Tom Wood, Courtney Lawes, all these people'," said Matavesi, who joined Saints from Championship outfit Cornish Pirates. "You're like 's***', and I was just in awe of things in terms of the gym, the changing rooms and stuff like that.
"That's nothing against the Pirates because what they have they make great use of.
"But when you come up to the Saints, it's another level.
"I came off the bench to make my debut against Leinster (in December 2019) and started against Benetton the month after and it went terribly wrong. The lineouts were terrible, we just beat them, I didn't play very well at all.
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Hide Ad"I was then out of the team for quite a few months and I said to Dows, who was forwards coach at the time, 'what's going on? Send me on loan or whatever'.
"He just said 'be patient - did you just think you're going to turn up and play?'. I wasn't trying to be cocky or arrogant but I said 'yeah, I did'. Mikey (Haywood) is a legend and James Fish was playing really well at the time but you go through all these roller coasters and it only changed when I went away with Fiji after we (Saints) had a losing streak through Covid.
"I went away with Fiji and we ended up beating Georgia - we played in Scotland for some bizarre reason - and I came back and we had the group who had started the week before and the non-playing group.
"I walked through with the non-playing and didn't even throw the ball in because there were four hookers - Fish and Mike with the first team and me and Reece (Marshall) with the non-playing.
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Hide Ad"I just walked with the non-playing but they said 'no, no - you're over here' and I started that week against Bordeaux (December 2020). We lost but I went okay and then I sort of played all but every game that season and after.
"It just clicked.
"You gain people's trust and you can relax a bit more.
"When you come into that environment, the biggest thing is getting comfortable with your set piece and when I got used to that with Ribeye (David Ribbans) and got that connection, it opened things up to get my hands on the ball and do different things.
"Every game I got a little bit better, earned the trust of Boydy (Chris Boyd) then (Sam) Vesty, Dows and went from strength to strength.
"It's been an incredible time."
Matavesi exits Saints having made 89 appearances for the club, scoring 13 tries in the process.
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Hide AdHis smile has always been firmly in place, even during the toughest times, and he has become a hugely popular figure at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.
Not only that, but his impact on the field of play has been sizeable since he cemented himself as first-choice hooker rather than part-time option and occasional back row forward!
"Probably one of the best games I played was for the Wanderers when I played seven and I got about eight turnovers!" Matavesi said, laughing.
"It's really tough because we had conversations and I knew in my head it was really hard to be good at both positions.
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Hide Ad"I put all my eggs in the basket of being a hooker and I needed to focus on that.
"A few seasons ago I played seven against Exeter because we had suspensions and stuff like that so I dabbled but I always tried to make sure people didn't think I was 60 per cent hooker and 40 per cent back row.
"One big thing with Ferg (Saints scrum guru Matt Ferguson) is that I've always had a good relationship with him and he got quite angry because he said 'it's good you can fill in there (back row) if we need you to in training or games but you are a hooker so stop all this s*** and just focus on being a hooker'.
"I got more confidence playing at hooker and if you get the set piece right, it gives you the confidence to play how you want to play."
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Hide AdIn the season just gone, Matavesi played 20 times, but only eight of those appearances were starts as Curtis Langdon's incredible first campaign in black, green and gold made him first choice.
"The biggest thing with having that competition, like most positions this year, is that if he (Langdon) had an off game and didn't do this and didn't do that, I'd be like 'Dows, where's my chance?' but he didn't so I couldn't knock on Dows's door and ask him if I could start next week," Matavesi said. "If I did, he'd just be like 'well, Curt got man of the match, so...'
"I'm all for that and I got my chances and starts, but Curt was unreal and I was absolutely gutted he didn't get on that England tour because he's been one of the best forwards all year and he's been outstanding.
"That competition drives it. I wasn't happy with coming off the bench but I knew if I was getting 20 minutes I had to make an impact, and that was what everyone on the bench had to bring.
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Hide Ad"You look at the Premiership final and you've got (Tom) Seabrook fit, (James) Ramm fit, Hutch (Rory Hutchinson) fit and those are three quality players - Ramm got player of the year last year - and they put (George Hendy) on the bench and you think 'fair, Hendy's a freak' and then he pretty much wins the final.
"He got man of the match coming off the bench and that's what they backed because they knew if he got a slight chance, he could create something. I'm not saying the others couldn't but it just shows you how much the coaches have got right."
Though when he went into the day he didn't know it would be his final game as a Saints player, Matavesi has been able to go out on a real high.
Saints claimed their first Premiership title since 2014 by beating Bath in the Twickenham showpiece.
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Hide AdAnd it was something that certainly exceeded Matavesi's expectations.
"Growing up, my family was all rugby and even to play in the Prem was a dream," he said.
"When Mikey (Haywood) wasn't available during Covid, I started against Wasps and they beat us but I got my name and number on the back of a shirt and I got my first Prem start. I could have melted there and then!
"But to go on and play quite regularly and feel comfortable at the level and then to finish with winning the Prem, it is the stuff that dreams are made of."
He added: "It was incredible.
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Hide Ad"After the game, you're busy and I don't think it will even settle in now.
"Maybe when I get over to France, have a quiet few days, I’ll understand how amazing the day was, the night, the next day.
"I remember taking the kids to school that week and parents I'd never spoke to were telling me they'd got tickets, their young kid had got his shirt and others couldn't get shirts because they were sold out.
"I heard Sue (Alex Waller) and Courts (Courtney Lawes) speak about how it galvanised people and brought the town together 10 years ago and you don't appreciate it, but when it happens and you've got people who don't really watch rugby but are from Northampton and went to the final, it was amazing.
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Hide Ad"The atmosphere and how we won it, I'm still on cloud nine now if I'm honest."
Matavesi hasn't seen too much of the city that will become his new home, but a brief visit to Lyon has added to his excitement about what now lies ahead.
"When I was okay to pursue it and the transfer fee was agreed, I went over for a medical but I was just in and out and then back," he explained.
"It's a lovely ground, they've just redone the offices and the gym, and the All Blacks were the first team to use it because they were based there during the World Cup.
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Hide Ad"I'm just excited for a change of scenery to refresh the mind and body."
But while he and his family will be in Lyon, Northampton will always have a special place in the heart of Matavesi.
"I was in the gym at Nuffield today and I was thinking 'Cornwall is home' and I didn't think anything could get close to it, but we've been in Northampton for five years and we're fully in," he said. "The kids are at school, they're at clubs, we walk the dog at Upton and I played cricket for St Crispins on Sunday!
"Northampton is a place we've fallen in love with.
"It's going to be a really sad time to leave, but it's the right time for myself, the kids, the Mrs and it just worked out.
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Hide Ad"It's obviously quite nerve-racking for the kids to leave but I said to them that they can look back in 10 years time and think they lived in France for two years and they can speak a bit of French.
"It's a great adventure."
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