Victor Matfield revealed his pride at becoming South Africa's most-capped player after guiding his teammates to a 29-25 victory over Wales in Cardiff.

The second-row giant surpassed the record set by John Smit and Percy Montgomery with his record-breaking 103rd cap at the Millennium Stadium.

And Bulls lock Matfield celebrated his landmark in style with his sixth international try to help the Springboks producing a stirring second-half fightback and keep their Grand Slam hopes alive.

Matfield, 33, said: "I stated in the week that I am not one to be into records. But it's a great honour to play for my country for as many times as that.

"I don't score many tries but I was lucky a gap opened up for me. It's nice to be involved in a team that is successful and I hope that lasts for two more games.

"We are happy with the way things are going. A lot of people thought we would be lucky to get a win over here in Europe. We have shown a lot of character but we have to keep building on this."

Wales had looked set to record an historic victory over the Tri Nations giants after racing into a 17-9 halftime lead thanks to tries from debutant George North and James Hook.

But the wounded Springboks displayed their never-say-die spirit to roar back with two second half tries - and 17 unanswered points - in quick succession.

Matfield added: "It was all about accuracy and we were much better in the second half than the first. We had worked in training at getting our powerful runners on the ball and we kept running at them until we got an opportunity. We started to put them under pressure and came back into the match."

The first came on 50 minutes from replacement flanker Willem Alberts to bring the Springboks to within a point before Matfield grabbed a crucial yet rare score to put the tourists in the driving seat.

Wales hit back as 18-year-old North capped a sensational debut with his second score but South Africa clung on to record their second successive win despite having to resist a late onslaught from the hosts.

Springboks head coach Peter de Villiers, whose side aim to complete a European clean sweep with trips to Scotland and then England, said: "I told the players at half-time they had let themselves down but they could make it happen for themselves. The players have shown what the jersey means to the team and we showed a lot of character.

"We now have one focus and that is on Scotland. That's very important for us. We have to carry on the momentum we have gained but make sure that we just focus on one game at a time.

"A lot of things can happen in a week so we will just play that game and then we will start speaking about the final game after that."

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