Dan Carter was 'fit and ready to go' for now-cancelled game with former Super Rugby side
The story that dominated the airwaves before Super Rugby Aotearoa kicked off was the return of Dan Carter to New Zealand. Carter signed not with the Crusaders, however, but with the Blues. While a hamstring tweak kept the All Blacks centurion out of action for a number of weeks and prevented the first five from debuting against the Hurricanes a month ago, it appears that the cancellation of the final Super Rugby Aotearoa game of the season has now prevented Carter from finally making his Blues debut.
There was always a risk that Carter, who was signed as injury cover for utility back Stephen Perofeta, was never going to take the field for his new side given the presence of Beauden Barrett, Otere Black and even Jack Heighton in the squad. Head coach Leon MacDonald has revealed that the All Blacks legend had a reasonable chance of finally earning his first Blues cap in this weekend’s clash with his old side at Eden Park. Auckland’s reversion to a COVID-inforced lockdown has forced the cancellation of Sunday’s game between Super Rugby Aotearoa’s competition leaders, however.
Although MacDonald didn’t outright state that Carter was set to run out in blue, he indicated that the experienced first five was certainly ready and willing to play.
“The fans would have loved to have seen him play in New Zealand again,” MacDonald told Newshub. “He looked really good but he also offered a lot to us off the park. He was fit and ready to go and a good shot at being there on Sunday.”
Carter has spent the last four years plying his trade in France and Japan, most recently turning out for Wayne Smith’s Kobelco Steelers in the Top League. The former Crusader’s time with the team came to an end earlier this year, however, and Chief Aaron Cruden has taken his spot in the roster.
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That leaves a question mark over where Carter will be playing his rugby next year – if he plays professionally at all. MacDonald confirmed that there had been no serious discussions about signing the pivot for next season but talks may develop once lockdown ends.
Despite not making an impact on the field for the Blues this year, Carter’s presence and experience have still rubbed off on his teammates, including captain Patrick Tuipulotu.
“He was Patrick’s right-hand man for most of the season and we’ve all seen him grow as a leader and a player, and Dan is a massive part of that,” MacDonald said.
“We know he is a Crusaders man at heart, but to put that aside and join the team is a testament to what a great guy he is.”
When the Blues scored their first win over the Chiefs in Hamilton last month, for the first time since 2011, wing Caleb Clarke indicated that Carter played a large role in helping the young Blues side get the monkey off their backs.
“I know that Dan Carter, in our last training together as a whole squad, he mentioned how our team can do something that no other Blues team has done in a while and I think that meant a lot to everyone,” Clarke told RugbyPass. “And, you know, it’s Dan Carter – when he speaks, you just want to listen to him.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
84 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
2 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
5 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real people. They claim free speech. Free speech for anonymous trolls/voilent thugs threatening people under false names? The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to comments