Meeting my hero: When the 'mountain' came to the Rock

Queenstown man Dave Ness has met "heaps" of rugby heroes during his time as a bar owner in the resort.

Over the years he has had many rugby players come into the bar, including the Lions and several All Blacks.

The most memorable was Springbok captain Victor Matfield, a "mountain of a man".

Matfield came into Mr Ness's bar, Red Rock, with the Bulls during the 2007 Super 14s.

"It was a privilege to have them in the bar.

"It was quite awesome to have players you see on television over the years in a little bar like the Red Rock.

"It was amazing," he said.

He was impressed with Matfield's 2m frame.

"He is huge. He was such an overpowering person.

"He is a seriously big man," he said.

He said rugby teams visiting New Zealand usually came to Queenstown to see the sights and sample some of the activities.

"We were lucky enough to have the Bulls spend the afternoon at Red Rock," Mr Ness said.

When they walked in, they stood out because they were a lot bigger than everyone else in the bar, he said.

He said he got chatting to Matfield, who was very polite and humble.

The players gave as good as they got when it came to banter, he said.

"The Bulls had just been beaten by Canterbury, the team I support, so I gave them some stick about it," he said.

Matfield was more than willing to be in photographs with bar patrons.

A photo of Mr Ness and his friend with Matfield sits in pride of place on the photo wall of fame in the bar.