Christchurch born and bred, Matt played 141 games for the Crusaders across nine Super Rugby seasons, three being part of the seven year winning streak. He also played for Canterbury from 2009-2017 and played 25 Tests for the All Blacks.

Matt spent time overseas playing for Panasonic Wild Knights and Toshiba Brave Lupus before returning to Christchurch as defence coach for Canterbury in the 2022 and 2023 NPC campaigns.

Not straying from Rugby Park, Matt returned to the Crusaders in 2024, this time as Assistant Coach.