Coordinates: 51°08′56″N 0°21′53″E / 51.1488°N 0.3648°E / 51.1488; 0.3648

Matfield is a small village, part of the civil parish of Brenchley, in the Tunbridge Wells Borough of Kent, England. The sculptor Theresa Sassoon planted a tree on the green to commemorate the end of World War I; the tree was blown down in the hurricane of 1987 and had to be replaced. There are also three pubs: The Wheelwright's Arms; The Star and a gastropub "The Poet" at the Standing Cross.

Matfield was awarded the title of Kent Village of the Year in 2010.

Matfield is located around 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Paddock Wood.

The village grew up around its village green, which is the largest in Kent. The village green features a large pond at its northern end.

Victor Matfield (born 11 May 1977 in Pietersburg (now in Limpopo Province), South Africa) is a South African rugby union player. He has played for, and captained the Springbok rugby team as well as the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Bulls franchise in Super Rugby. He is generally considered one of the best locks in the world and has had a long successful partnership with Springbok and Blue Bulls teammate Bakkies Botha.

Besides almost always winning his own line-out ball, Matfield is known for his exceptional skill at disrupting opposition line-outs – this skill was a cornerstone of their 2007 World Cup success, where he was crowned IRB (International Rugby Board) player of the Rugby World Cup – and his speed around the field led former Australian coach Eddie Jones to comment that he should be an Olympic sprinter instead.^{[citation needed]} He also possesses good upper body strength, with the ability to bench press 155 kg. In 2008 he became the first international captain to beat the All Blacks in New Zealand since Martin Johnson in 2003. Matfield retired after the 2011 World Cup after an impressive career, leaving the game as the record Springbok cap holder.

John Philip "Bakkies" Botha, (born 22 September 1979 in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal Province) is a South African rugby union player who plays lock for the Springboks. He was a member of the national team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France in addition to winning two Tri Nations titles in the 2004 Tri Nations Series and the 2009 Tri Nations Series. Botha plays for RC Toulonnais in the Top 14 after signing from Blue Bulls provincial team in the Currie Cup competition and the Bulls Super Rugby team.

Botha played for the under-19 and under-23 Springbok sides before being chosen for the South African "A" team that toured Europe at the end of 2001. The following year he was selected for the Springbok team and made his debut against France in Marseille on 9 September 2002, a game the Springboks went on to lose 30–10.

Through the years Botha and Blue Bulls teammate Victor Matfield formed a formidable partnership at lock for both their province and country. Botha is known as one of the "hardest" locks in world rugby, and is nicknamed "The Enforcer" for his physical play.

Byron Terrance Kelleher (born 3 December 1976 in Dunedin, New Zealand) is a rugby union scrum-half who currently plays for Stade Français in the French Top 14, and has played 57 tests for the All Blacks. He went to Otago Boys' High School, and originally played for Otago in the NPC and the Highlanders in the Super 14, moving north in 2004 to play for Waikato and the Chiefs. He is 1.75m tall and weighs 95 kg. He was New Zealand's Super 12 Player of the Year in 1999. After meeting in 2005 Kelleher began a high profile relationship with pornography star Kaylani Lei, which ended in June 2006.

Kelleher had signed a contract to play for Agen in the Top 14 after the 2007 Rugby World Cup;Cain, Nick (2007-04-29). "Player exodus threatens world order". The Sunday Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article1719922.ece. Retrieved 2007-04-30.  however, the club's relegation to the second-level Rugby Pro D2 after the 2006–07 Top 14 season caused the contract to be cancelled. Kelleher went on to sign with traditional Top 14 powers Toulouse, effective with the end of the Rugby World Cup. He won the "Bouclier de Brennus" (the French Rugby Union Title) in the 2007–08 Top 14 season with Stade Toulousain, and was elected by the Top 14 players as the season's best player.

John William Smit (born 3 April 1978 in Pietersburg, South Africa) is the 50th captain of the South African national rugby union team, the Springboks, and currently playing professionally in England with Saracens. He has played most of his career as a hooker, but played twice for the Springboks off the bench as a prop prior to the South Africa coaching staff's decision to use him as a tighthead prop for the 2008 end of year Tests. On 22 November 2008, he surpassed prop Os du Randt as the most-capped forward in Springboks history. He retired from international rugby following the 2011 Rugby World Cup as the most-capped player in South African history, with 111 appearances.

While still active at club level, Smit was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011, alongside all other Rugby World Cup-winning captains and head coaches from the tournament's inception in 1987 through 2007 (minus the previously inducted John Eales).

Smit went to Pretoria Boys High School where he was head prefect in 1996 and played in the First XV from 1994 to 1996.^{[citation needed]}