Dan Carter
STILL GOT IT: Crusaders and All Blacks veteran Richie McCaw celebrates a great night for the franchise with Fijian flier Nemani Nadolo.
New Zealand exhales. Turns out rumours of the decline of Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter have been greatly exaggerated.
McCaw and Carter both produced timely high-quality performances in Christchurch tonight as the Crusaders won through to their 11th – yes, 11th – Super Rugby final with a 38-6 dismantling of the Sharks. The Red ‘n Blacks are now 80 minutes away from their eighth championship – but notably a first since 2008.
On a night when Kieran Read illuminated the big occasion with a stellar demonstration of his remarkable quality, and Fijian find of the year Nemani Nadolo was equally as destructive, the old soldiers McCaw and Carter were not a million miles off the standard set by the best player in the world.
With Read, this sort of stuff is as predictable as it is enjoyable. He is a colossus of the game completely at the peak of his powers. His every minute on the field these days is to be savoured.
Kieran Read
Dan Carter
Israel Dagg
Nemani Nadolo
Kieran Read, Dan Carter, Israel Dagg and Nemani Nadolo all return to the starting line-up for the Crusaders this weekend when they take on the Blues at AMI Stadium.
They are four of six new faces in the starting 15.
In the forwards, Ben Funnell and Owen Franks have taken starting spots in place of Corey Flynn and Nepo Laulala, who will be ready to inject some energy off the bench.
Dan Carter
Kieran Read
The stage is set for Dan Carter and Kieran Read to take command of the Crusaders for the final rocky weeks of Super Rugby, but coaching staff are cagey about the duo’s prospects of starting against the resurgent Blues.
All Blacks flyhalf Carter, working his way back after a six-month sabbatical, and number eight Read came off the bench in the second half against the Hurricanes on Saturday but were powerless to stop their side falling to a 16-9 defeat.
The disappointing loss in Wellington has prompted calls for the pair to be thrown straight in against the Blues, who re-ignited their season with a confidence-boosting rout of the Western Force last week.
Dan Carter
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder has named his team to play the Hurricanes this weekend. The team will head to Wellington on Friday to prepare for the game at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.
Eight players have returned from the All Blacks to make the team, including prop Wyatt Crockett who will pack down with Corey Flynn and Nepo Laulala in the front row. Owen Franks will provide front row cover alongside Joe Moody and Ben Funnell on the bench.
Locks Dom Bird and Sam Whitelock will pair up in the second row, and Matt Todd will wear the No 7 jersey with Richie McCaw ruled out with a broken rib. Jordan Taufua and Luke Whitelock join him in the loose forwards with Kieran Read and Jimmy Tupou named in the reserves.
Dan Carter
Dan Carter has played barely 120 minutes of club rugby since embarking on his sabbatical last November, but he has declared himself available for selection against the Hurricanes.
It is unlikely that the super-star flyhalf will be thrown straight into the mix. If selected, Carter would probably start off the bench.
Colin Slade, who was a member of the All Blacks squad for the recent series against England, is tipped to start at flyhalf Wellington as the Crusaders look to consolidate their position at the head of the New Zealand conference.
Dan Carter
All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter will make his comeback to rugby after six months in a minor club match in rural Canterbury province on Saturday.
Carter will play for the Southbridge club, where he began his career, in a local championships match against Glenmark.
Dan Carter has put his jet-setting lifestyle to bed and is back on the training pitch as he prepares himself for a return to rugby.
The experienced All Blacks flyhalf has been using his sabbatical this year to mingle with sports and entertainment celebrities around the planet, from Elton John to Rory McIlroy.
New Zealand flyhalf Dan Carter is hoping to bring an end to his sabbatical and make his Super Rugby return for the Crusaders in July.
The 32-year-old, the highest points scorer in test rugby, is hoping the six-month rest will help extend his international career through New Zealand’s defence of the World Cup in 2015.
All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter will have surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle, which is a separate issue from his Achilles injury.
New Zealand’s Kieran Read says his side will be more eager to mark Dan Carter’s 100th cap with a good performance than avenge last year’s loss to England when the teams meet on Saturday.
Carter, 31, will become the fifth All Black to reach a century of caps if he plays at Twickenham.
Chris Rattue, one of the well-known New Zealand Rugby Journalists, wants Dan Carter not to be selected for the England clash and he believes Dan does not have the magic of old anymore.
It was not the perfect weekend for the All Blacks, with France running them close. This begs the question whether Daniel Carter is still the flyhalf maestro he once was.
All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, says the All Blacks will be better against England compared to how they went against France.
The End Of Year Tours (Autumn Internationals) starts this coming weekend and this week we should see a lot of news in preparation of these Tours. The New Zealand NPC is over, the South African Currie Cup has a new Champion, now the International stage lights up again!
The New Zealand All Blacks believe Dan Carter will be ready to face Japan and has also sent an S.O.S. call to prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen as cover for Joe Moody who was injured in the NPC Final.
With the All Blacks having beaten the Springboks over the weekend, in The Rugby Championship, they have extended their lead to four points over the second placed Springboks.
It would however seem that not everything is sunny in the All Black camp though.
Flyhalf Daniel Carter will return to the New Zealand side for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against Argentina after recovering from a calf strain, while centre Francis Saili will make his test debut.
The 31-year-old Carter had been expected to play the first Rugby Championship match against Australia in Sydney last month but pulled up with the injury at training and missed the return fixture in Wellington.
The All Blacks look set to welcome back star flyhalf Dan Carter from injury as they returned to training ahead of their Rugby Championship clash with the Pumas next weekend.
The bulk of the squad – excluding 10 players who were released for provincial duty – reassembled for their first training session in Hamilton on Sunday following a timely week-long break.
The latest flyhalf injury to hit the All Blacks seems a minor setback for coach Steve Hansen whose major issue appears to be who to cut when all players are fit.
Tom Taylor, New Zealand’s fourth-ranked flyhalf, has been sidelined for three weeks with a rib injury suffered late in Saturday’s 27-16 win over Australia where he made his Test debut with a confident display.
Flyhalf Dan Carter will miss New Zealand’s first two Rugby Championship Tests against Australia and could be sidelined for up to four weeks with a calf strain.
New Zealand’s star flyhalf Dan Carter will take an extended break from the game next year to ensure he is fit for the 2015 World Cup.
The 31-year-old, the highest points scorer in international rugby, is under contract with New Zealand until the end of 2015.
However, like All Black captain Richie McCaw – who sat out the first six months of this year – Carter has a clause allowing him to take a sabbatical.
New Zealand have recalled fit-again flyhalf Daniel Carter and scrumhalf Piri Weepu for the third and final test against France in New Plymouth on Saturday.
Ace All Black flyhalf Dan Carter has been cleared to play in next week’s third Test against France, while Les Bleus have lost two key players.
Dan Carter heads a string of injured All Blacks less than a week from the first Test against France, with coach Steve Hansen unable to confirm Monday if his star playmaker would take the field.
X-rays have revealed Carter cracked a bone in his right hand during the Crusaders’ 23-22 win over the Waratahs in a Super Rugby match last Friday.
The Crusaders, already without Richie McCaw, suffered another captaincy blow ahead of their tour to South Africa.
It can be hair-raising but Dan Carter says the Crusaders’ hectic game-plan is here to stay.
Racing Metro have admitted their chances of obtaining the services of either Dan Carter or Jonathan Sexton are slim to none.
The world’s best player, All Black flyhalf Dan Carter, is the latest target of the cash-flush French clubs.
Flyhalf Dan Carter has recovered from a calf injury and will start for New Zealand in their final test of the year against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
A sold out Murrayfield witnessed nine tries as the world champions, New Zealand, saw off the challenge of Scotland in the first of the EMC Tests.
Two tries from Tim Visser and one from Geoff Cross were not enough to hold off the might of the visitors, with head coach Andy Robinson immediately turning to the challenge of South Africa, the second in the November series.
All Black flyhalf Daniel Carter has been withdrawn from the team to face Argentina in Wellington this Saturday, having suffered a calf strain.
The All Blacks play Ireland in the 3rd test of Ireland’s Summer Southern Hemisphere tour in Waikato on Saturday, 23rd June. Kick off is at 09.35 SA time.
Both sides have announced their teams with various changes in both the All Blacks and Ireland’s teams from the 2nd test match, that Ireland were very unlucky not to draw or perhaps even win.
All Black and Crusaders super star Dan Carter has given his struggling Crusaders team mates a confidence lift for the season by returning to training for the Super Rugby season.
The Crusaders star All Black duo of Richie McCaw and Dan Carter are expected to miss the opening rounds of the 2012 Super Rugby season.
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