The roar of 47 000 fans at Eden Park was still echoing when Bismarck du Plessis lined up Dan Carter. It was the 15th minute of a high-stakes Rugby Championship clash, and the Springboks were trailing 7-3.
Carter, New Zealand’s golden boy, had just released the ball when Du Plessis arrived - perfectly timed, textbook technique, shoulder to chest. Carter crumpled. The crowd gasped. And then, the whistle blew.
French referee Romain Poite reached for his pocket and produced a yellow card. The Springboks were stunned. Carter, nursing a shoulder injury, left the field. And the match - already tense - tilted dramatically.
📲 “Nothing wrong with the tackle. Fell awkwardly and popped my AC joint.”
— Dan Carter on X (formerly Twitter)
The tackle sparked a brawl. The Boks, down to 14 men, conceded a try to Brodie Retallick during Du Plessis’s sin-bin period.
But the hooker returned with fire in his belly, scoring a try to bring the score to 17-10 at halftime.
Then, just two minutes into the second half, came the second yellow - this time for leading with his elbow into Liam Messam’s throat. Red card. Game over.
The All Blacks capitalised immediately. Kieran Read scored his second try, Sam Cane added another, and the Springboks - despite a late consolation from Patrick Lambie - were sunk 29-15.
A Moment That Refused to Die
In the days that followed, the rugby world erupted. Former Bok coach Nick Mallett called the decision a “disgrace.”
The IRB issued a rare statement admitting the first yellow card was a mistake. SANZAR’s judicial officer Terry Willis ruled the tackle on Carter was “within the laws of the game.” The red card was officially wiped from Du Plessis’s record.
Even Carter himself defended the hit. So did All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, who called Du Plessis “unlucky.”
New Zealand media described the decision as “farcical” and “an overreaction.” The consensus was clear: the tackle was legal, the punishment was not.
📲 “The hooker’s shoulder-charge on Carter looked dodgy, but replays showed the hit was legit and that referee Romain Poite had over-reacted big time.”
— Mark Hinton, Sunday Star-Times
Victor Matfield: “We Were Screwed”
Victor Matfield, who played in that match, still carries the sting. “We should have won,” he said on the Rivals podcast. “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.”
He recalled arriving at Eden Park in 2010 as favourites, only to be smashed 32-12. “You never arrive in New Zealand as favourites,” he said. “Especially when you play at Eden Park.”
The Man Behind the Moment
In 2023, Bismarck du Plessis retired after 392 professional matches. During a farewell interview, he broke down in tears. “I never played the game to bring the game into contradiction,” he said. “I always played the game to be good. To be as fair as I could.”
He remembered the tackle. He remembered the fallout. And he remembered the love and hate that followed. “Make sure you get this right,” he told the journalist, wagging a finger at the screen.
📲 “I know many people loved me but there were many people who hated me.”
— Bismarck du Plessis, Rugby World Cup interview
Eden Park, 2025: The Ghost Returns
Twelve years later, the Springboks return to Eden Park. The ghosts of 2013 still linger. The stadium remains a fortress - South Africa haven’t won there since 1937. The All Blacks haven’t lost a test there since 1994.
But rugby is a game of redemption. And sometimes, the past isn’t just a memory, it’s a motivation.