Southern prop Mike Mata'afa will play his 200th game for the Magpies tomorrow. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH Mike Mata’afa is on borrowed time. He told his wife, Sia Lei-Mata’afa, he would quit rugby when their daughter, Senara, was born. She turns 6 next month and Mata’afa is still lacing up his boots. The popular prop will crack an exclusive club when he runs out for Southern at Bathgate Park tomorrow. It will be his 200th game for the Magpies. The 36-year-old joins just three other Southern players to have reached the milestone. Lindsay Clark is at the top of the list with an estimated 250 appearances. And Warren Moffat (210) and Luke Herden (207), who both played with Mata’afa, complete the list. His daughter is doing a school project on his efforts this week, and his family and friends will be at the ground to celebrate the milestone and the 16 years he has spent in black and white. "It is funny because I had a wee nosy back at the 100-game week. It was 2017 and we ended up winning [the title]," Mata’afa said. "So, maybe it's a nice wee omen for us and for myself, but yeah, I'm just kind of treating it as another game, to be fair." Life has been good to Mata’afa since he brought up 100 games nine years ago. Southern won the title in 2017 and went back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. He got married in 2018, bought a house the following year and Senara arrived in 2020. He also completed a degree in 2023 and has secured a new job as a deputy warden at Aquinas College. "I actually told my wife, ‘look, when we have our child, I'll stop playing rugby’," he said. "And then Reggie [Southern rugby stalwart Mike Reggett] whispered to me that Warren Moffat and Luke Herden finished up with 200." That was a crafty move by the long-serving manager, who was there to run the Otago Daily Times through the list of other Southern players who had notched a double ton. Mata’afa is known for his scrumming prowess and heavy carries. The bookend played seven games for Otago between 2014 and 2016 and had a season with North Otago in the Heartland Championship when they won the Meads Cup in 2019. He came off the bench to help crush Whanganui 33-19 in the final. That was one of his many highlights. His first year with Southern (2011) was another. "When I first made the premier squad, I came in and I was sort of taking a back seat to the likes of Warren Moffat and Kees Meeuws. "I was learning the tricks of the trade at that time, I suppose." He has played alongside the likes of Paul Tupa’i, Mackenzie Palmer, Hisa Sasagi and Mika Mafi for a lengthy stint. "It's nice to see a lot of old heads, and probably that's what makes our team unique. We've got a lot of experience that we can call upon, especially in those crunch games." One of those is against Harbour tomorrow. The Hawks pride themselves on their forward play. In the other games, Taieri host Green Island, Zingari-Richmond have home advantage against Kaikorai and Alhambra-Union will look to inflict another upset when they welcome University to the North Ground.
