Legendary lock Victor Matfield says that the Springboks were \u2018screwed\u2019 the last time they faced the All Blacks at Eden Park.<\/b><\/p>\n
South Africa fell to a 29-15 defeat to New Zealand the last time the two nations squared off at the iconic stadium in Auckland, after referee Romain Poite gave hooker Bismarck du Plessis his marching orders.<\/p>\n
The front-rower was shown his first yellow card of the match for a mammoth shot on All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter in the 15th minute of the 2013 Rugby Championship encounter.<\/p>\n
The decision proved to be hugely controversial at the time and is still brought up by fans and pundits whenever the two sides face off, particularly in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Bismarck du Plessis\u2019 red card in 2013<\/p>\n
Carter\u2019s match was ended by the hit, which sparked a brawl between the two sets of players. At the time of the incident, the Springboks<\/a> trailed the All Blacks<\/a> 7-3 and would extend their lead during Du Plessis\u2019 sin-binning period with Brodie Retallick scoring his first Test try.<\/p>\n The hooker made an impact upon his return, scoring a try to make the scores 17-10 at the break, but his game was cut short early in the second half.<\/p>\n Two minutes into the second half, Du Plessis was shown a second yellow card and a subsequent red for leading with his elbow as he ran into Liam Messam.<\/p>\n The All Blacks quickly capitalised as number eight Kieran Read grabbed his second try of the match, with Sam Cane sealing the bonus point with his score. Patrick Lambie would score a consolation try for the Springboks as they succumbed to the defeat.<\/p>\n Ahead of the Springboks\u2019 first game at Eden Park<\/a> in 12 years, Matfield reflected on that match and his experience of playing the All Blacks at the venue.<\/p>\n In 2010, the lock started the Tri Nations fixture where the Boks were tipped to end the All Blacks\u2019 unbeaten run at the ground after beating New Zealand in all three of their meetings the year prior. However, South Africa were comfortably beaten 32-12.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve arrived once at Eden Park as favourites, after we won three games in a row and New Zealand smashed us,\u201d Matfield said on the Rivals podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYou never arrive in New Zealand as favourites. The All Blacks are always favourites, especially when you play at Eden Park \u2013 it\u2019s going to be a massive Test match.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a nice build-up, it\u2019s one for the history books. I think the previous time, we were there, we should have won and then they gave Bismarck du Plessis a red card for one of the greatest tackles ever in world rugby on Dan Carter, and that screwed us a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Ex-All Blacks winger Sir John Kirwan interjected and added his view of that tackle on Carter.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought he should have got 12 weeks, mate. That was one of the worst tackles ever,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so late, it was nearly half-time.\u201d<\/p>\n Matfield responded: \u201cIt was the best tackle just under the chest, one solid hit. But that\u2019s what happens when you tackle Dan Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n Tony Brown: All Blacks v Springboks is the biggest game since the Rugby World Cup final<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n