Matt Damon to star in new rugby movie

Top Hollywood actor Matt Damon (as in the guy from the Bourne Trilogy, but I suspect that most of the girls will know that!) is to star in a Clint Eastwood directed film in the role of former South African rugby captain François Pienaar.

This will be the second Tinseltown feature to centre on the game, but (assuming it goes ahead) it will be rather more high profile than the film reported on earlier this month.

SArugby.com and Rugby Heaven (and many other sources) report that the film will also star Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, and that the film will be based on a book about the 1995 South African World Cup win, which is held by many to be a key event in uniting the new nation after the end of aparthied. The likely title will be "The Human Factor" as it will mainly be based on a book of the same name, but it will also include elements from "Long Walk to Freedom" - Mandela's autobiography.

Its all more than just rumour. Contracts have been signed and filming is due go begin in South Africa early next year. The only unanswered question is quite how Damon will put on at least five inches and around about four stones in order to fill the legendary back row's shirt - Pienaar is 6ft 3in tall and at his playing peak weighed 17 stone, while Damon doesn't quite make 5ft 10in nor is much over 13st. Some inventive camera angles required here, methinks!

However, what is without doubt is that a film featuring Eastwood, Freeman and Damon and based around the life of Mandela would potentially hit so many bells that a surefire hit would be almost inevitable - certainly a lot of publicity which will do the game in the US, and come to that around the world, no harm at all.