Dan Carter weighs in with balanced analysis of Scott Robertson's All Blacks

Dan Carter has offered his two cents on how the All Blacks are tracking ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup and shared his view on the race for the black No.10 shirt at the tournament.

Carter last donned black a decade ago at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, emerging from the tournament as a two-time winner and cementing his place as rugby royalty among the greats of the game.

The Kiwis have claimed two podium finishes at World Cups since Carter’s retirement, but have fallen short of the top spot, being bested in the 2019 semi-final by England and then again in the 2023 final by South Africa.

The current World Cup cycle has seen New Zealand part ways with the old guard of coaches, embracing a new direction outside of the succession of yesteryear. That came with expectations of a rejuvenated squad and a return to the dominance that Carter’s teams had displayed, which has not eventuated.

But Carter saw the changes in a positive light, with plenty of confidence in the team’s emerging talent.

“I think they’ve definitely got the players to win a World Cup,” he said at the World Cup draw in Sydney on Wednesday. “They’ve been working on building depth, but now we need to start working on combinations, consistency, and monitoring growth over the next two years.

“You don’t win World Cups two years out, so as long as the trajectory is forward over the next couple of years, they’ll definitely put themselves in the best possible shape to do that.”

Carter added to those thoughts when asked whether the heat that head coach Scott Robertson has been receiving lately is justified.

“I think you’ve got to support Razor, and the beauty with New Zealand is we’re so passionate and have such high expectations, and I love that, that pressure that it brings to the team and the head coach,” he replied.

“He’s trying to grow depth, and he’s been quite open about that, but there have been key moments in the last couple of seasons where we just haven’t quite delivered.

“So, as long as he’s learning from those, and I’m quite confident that he will be, and the coaching group will be learning from those losses, then they’ll only grow and continue to get better.

“Like I said, as long as they are continuing to grow and improve, then they put themselves in good stead for Rugby World Cup 2027.”

Carter’s familiar No.10 jersey has been fiercely contested since his departure, and it looks as though, for the third straight World Cup, there will be plenty of debate over who is best suited for the pivotal No.10 role.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Carter remarked on the selection debate. “Obviously, Beaudy’s (Barrett) been steering the ship this year, you’ve had DMac (Damian McKenzie) for the majority of last year, you’ve got Richie Mo’unga coming back. What I love about that is the competition. Exactly who is driving the ship is anyone’s opportunity to grab hold of.

“But they’ll all be competing, and that’s exactly what you want. The coaches have come out and said that they want squad depth, three to four players in each position, and when you’ve got world-class players and depth in key positions like the No.10 jersey, then it’s a real positive.”

He went on to explain what World Cups demand of playmakers, and how it differs from regular Test match rugby.

“You’ve got to do your core basics well, the fundamentals of the game, in the 10 jersey, because World Cups are different. There are different expectations and pressures. Things happen in World Cups that you can’t even imagine, whether it’s referee decisions, or cards or injuries, you just don’t know.

“So, you want the drivers of the team to just be doing the fundamentals of the game and just performing under those extreme amounts of pressure. So, great communication, great kicking, passing, and just directing the team around the field is really important. But also, that ability to change momentum when it’s needed.

“So, there’s still plenty of time to figure that out.”