'They were really dominant': The best player and team Dan Carter ever faced
All Blacks legend Dan Carter has named the best player and the best team he ever played against throughout his storied rugby career.
Speaking on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod ahead of his upcoming Kickathon event for UNICEF and the DC10 Fund, Carter pinpointed former England first-five Jonny Wilkinson as the best player he ever came up across nearly two decades of professional rugby.
During that time, Carter crossed paths with countless greats of the game, including the likes of Jonah Lomu, Brian O’Driscoll, Bryan Habana, Shane Williams and George Gregan, among numerous others.
However, the two-time World Cup-winning All Blacks centurion, who called time on his playing career early last year, highlighted Wilkinson as the best player he ever faced off against.
“There’s so many, it’s hard to pinpoint one [player]. Probably because I held him in such high regard and had huge amount of respect for him, it was Jonny Wilkinson. He was an absolute student of the game,” Carter told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
The three-time World Rugby Player of the Year attributed a test between the All Blacks and England in 2003, a week before his test debut against Wales, as the match where he began to fully appreciate Wilkinson’s talents.
In that match in Wellington, England defeated the All Blacks 15-13 before going on to claim their first, and only, World Cup title in Australia later that year.
Wilkinson was the star of that tournament, with his crowning glory coming in the final against the Wallabies when he slotted the match-winning drop goal in the dying stages of extra-time to hand England a 20-17 win in Sydney.
Having watched Wilkinson steer England to victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand five months beforehand as an unused substitute on the sideline, the then-uncapped Carter said he was left in awe of the British playmaker’s world-class abilities.
“It was a wild, windy test match down in Wellington, I was on the bench and I hadn’t played a test match for the All Blacks, and he just took that game and, as a 10 that wants to control a game, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Carter told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“I got the best seats in the house on the bench. Part of me was going, ‘Man, do I really want to get on here because he’s just completely dominating this game’.
“Thankfully I didn’t. I made my test debut the following week, which was a much better game to remember, but I just remember sitting there going, ‘If I ever do play 10’ – I was playing 12 a lot then – ‘this is how you need to control a game’.
“I had a huge amount of respect for him and playing against him.”
Throughout his 112-test career, Carter only went head-to-head with Wilkinson on three occasions – twice during the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in 2005, and then when the All Blacks played England in London in 2009.
Carter emerged victorious in all three tests, with arguably his greatest-ever performance coming against Wilkinson in the second Lions test in Wellington – two years after having watched Wilkinson direct England to victory at the same venue.
In terms of the best team he ever played against throughout his career, Carter said that title belonged to the Springboks team that played between 2007 and 2009.
South Africa were crowned World Cup champions in 2007 and then achieved a rare clean sweep of the All Blacks two years later, beating the Kiwis in all three of their tests during the 2009 Tri-Nations.
That same year, the Springboks beat the British & Irish Lions during their tour of South Africa, and had earlier defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand in 2008.
All of that culminated in South Africa alternating with New Zealand at the top of the World Rugby rankings between 2007 and 2009, which led Carter to label the Springboks side of that era as the best he ever faced off against.
“They were quite dominant. Obviously they won in 2007, the World Cup. 2009, there was a real Blue Bulls style to their play back then,” Carter told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“They were dominating at Super Rugby back then as well, the Bulls back then, and South African rugby was such a force.
“It was brutal. Every time you played against the Boks, you knew that you were going to be sore until Wednesday or Thursday.
“It was like I had a target on me. Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Pierre Spies – they were all just big, athletic human beings and they were really dominant in that time.”
All up, Carter played 19 tests against the Springboks – four of which came between the 2007 World Cup and 2009 Tri-Nations – and managed 15 wins.
Two of his four losses against South Africa came in New Zealand’s 2008 and 2009 home defeats to the Springboks.
Carter – somewhat unsurprisingly – added that former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw was the best player he ever played alongside.
“His actions was some of the best leadership that I’ve ever seen,” Carter said of McCaw on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“It would just inspire you being right next to him and seeing it first-hand. It was like, ‘Right, okay, I’m going to do the same’.”
He also said the 2015 World Cup-winning All Blacks side was the best team he had ever been a part of due to the side’s groundbreaking achievements that year.
“My mind automatically goes back to the 2015 team. To create history, probably more so for me because it was such a special moment to finish my All Black career on such a high,” Carter said.
“Helping the team win back-to-back World Cups, first All Blacks team to win a World Cup outside of New Zealand, it was a pretty special and unique team in the fact that seven guys had played 100 test matches, or close to 100 test matches, all finished – some good mates of mine – on the same night as well.”
Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
28 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
28 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
28 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments