Springbok flanker Marco van Staden relished the opportunity of facing the All Blacks at Eden Park for the first time in his career in the third round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship on Saturday at 09:05 (SA Time), and described it as one of the “special” matches to participate in.
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus will announce his match 23 on Thursday, but Van Staden said the fact that the Springboks had not defeated their archrivals at Eden Park since 1937 made it one of the matches to cherish if he were to be named in the team.
Van Staden said: “Every Test one plays in the green and gold is big, and no two teams are the same, so we are preparing as well as possible for the match. Having the opportunity to play in this match will certainly be special.
“It’s a significant stadium for the All Blacks, so anything we can learn from players who have faced New Zealand a few times away in the past, we’ll definitely take to heart.”
Bok leaders Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth are two of the survivors from the last time the Boks played the All Blacks at Eden Park in 2013. Van Staden says they’ll be tapping into that insight.
“Any knowledge of their previous experience [of playing at Eden Park] that they can transfer to us will be valuable to our squad, and we will use it to our advantage.”