All Black legend Dan Carter was on the receiving end of a massive hit on Saturday as he made his return to New Zealand club rugby.
The double World Cup winner and three times world player of the year played the full 80 minutes for the grassroots Southbridge side and contributed 12 points in their convincing 54-14 win over West Melton.
Played in front of around 1 000 spectators, it was Carter's first game since playing for the Kobe Steelers in Japan in February before the coronavirus pandemic forced a global sport shutdown.
The 38-year-old surprised the rugby world last month when he signed on with the Auckland Blues as injury cover when New Zealand launched its domestic Super Rugby competition.
But, as the footage below shows, it doesn't matter who you are or what you have achieved when it comes to club rugby!
Carter was hit hard and late by the West Melton hooker, but he was back on his feet soon enough and continued with the match.
The footage was shot by 1 News Sport in New Zealand.
Our cameraman Fitz beautifully captured the moment West Melton’s hooker hit Dan Carter (before Southbridge went on to win 54-14) @1NewsSportNZ pic.twitter.com/tOkjmBCSTu
— Chris Chang (@ChrisChang) July 4, 2020