Daniel Carter is able to evoke many emotions. Whether it is pride, admiration, inspiration or simply awe, Carter will easily go down in history as one of the best players to don the legendary black jersey of the All Blacks.
While his international career hasn’t finished just yet as he is likely to be selected to play in the Rugby World Cup taking place in England later this year, Dan the Man (as he has become known to his adoring fans) has played his final game in front of his home crowd of Christchurch, receiving a very fitting tribute.
Last week’s 58-17 slaughter of the Reds in front of a vibrant and vocal Kiwi crowd not only gave Carter (along with Richie McCaw, Colin Slade, Tom Taylor and Willi Heinz who are all set to leave the Crusaders with Carter at the end of the season) the send-off he deserved, but helped revive his side’s stuttering season and could potentially extend their Super Rugby campaign, giving us all the opportunity to get our final Carter fix.
Carter has been at the centre of the most successful team in Super Rugby for more than a decade after making his debut for the Crusaders back in 2003. While he is perhaps most famous for having the best boot on the park, showing he has both the brains and the ability for the flyhalf position, Carter initially began his career at inside centre. His versatility in the backline was just one of his many attributes that made his both a crowd and a coach favourite.
Carter reached the finals of the Super 12 competition (it is difficult to remember the time when only 12 teams competed for victory) four consecutive years in a row from 2003-2006 with the Crusaders. Although they lost in both 2003 and 2004, the tides turned for the team in the following two years and they found themselves victors of back-to-back trophies.
Coincidently, it was in 2005 that Carter made his move to flyhalf and in 2006 he went on to score 221 points, giving him the record of the most individual points in one season. Perhaps his move was the spark the Crusaders had been lacking in previous seasons.
In 2012 Carter sealed yet another record when he became the top scorer in the history of the Super Rugby with a staggering 1301 points to his name.
It a realistic observation to say that the Crusaders have yet to return to the remarkable form that made the era’s most successful team within the ever growing Super Rugby competition, with or without the help of Dan Carter. What we can be certain about, however, if that they will face an uphill battle in trying to find a player who can fill the boots of a living legend within the game of rugby.
Racing Metro has not been the first overseas club to offer him a contract and certainly isn’t the first club to have lured him away. However, with a three-year contract signed at a reported €1,500,000 a season, it isn’t difficult to see why Carter signed the deal that will rightfully make him the highest paid player in the World.
Injuries have plagued his career in recent years and it has become ever clearer that Carter is not the same player he had been pre-injury. While his “rugby brain” is sharper than ever thanks to his years of experience in every situation imaginable, his running game isn’t a lethal as it once was and he has seemed hesitant to push himself in the fear of allowing old injuries to rear their ugly heads.
Combined this with the pressure of the younger, quicker kids on the blocks breathing down his neck in an attempt to swipe the number 10 jersey from him, it had been speculated well in advance that the 2015 Rugby World Cup would his final appearance in black.
Thankfully, before we are treated to that rugby spectacle, there are still things to be decided in Super Rugby, along with the Rugby Championship competition, gifting us plenty of time to saver the marvel that is Daniel Carter.
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