Is Dan Carter Still All Blacks’ No. 1 Fly-Half?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 6, 2014

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When news broke that Dan Carter would miss the remainder of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, it was something of a national tragedy in New Zealand. The All Blacks were amidst a home World Cup campaign with the need to win greater than ever, having not hoisted the trophy since 1987.

Carter was seen as integral to that campaign, and to lose him with no obvious back-up left many pundits thinking the worst. 

It is hard to believe how far New Zealand's next tier of fly-halves have come since then. But come that far they have, and now with arguably the greatest depth in the position of any country in the world, there is a legitimate question of whether Carter remains the first choice.

The two obvious back-ups, who have performed impressively over the past two seasons, are Aaron Cruden and Beauden Barrett. Both have been forced to fill in for the No. 10 jersey and have shown themselves to be the equal of any other fly-half in the world. 



Along with these two, Colin Slade is playing the best rugby of his career, Lima Sopoaga is maturing into a reliable kicker and playmaker, while Tom Taylor showed his worth in his one test outing last season.

But with this increase in depth, one must ask where this leaves Carter as the sun sets on what has been a fantastic career.

Certainly when he is on the field and at his best, none of these men come close to Carter. His all-round game is still a couple of notches above his competition, and it is this that has made him such a valuable asset over the years.

He is the only fly-half in New Zealand who can confidently steer a team around the park at international level. His in-field kicking is superb, capable both of kicking short for his chasers to compete for when it is on, but also kicking long and getting the ball to roll and turn around the defenders to allow his chasers to apply pressure when the opposition back three is standing too sha...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

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