All eyes suddenly turn to him

After what had to be a glorious game in Paris, he being the man who lifted his side to draw against the almighty Stade de France, Daniel Carter got injured and his season is over.

And all of a sudden, kiwi hearts beat in anxiety. Who's to replace him for the All Blacks?

In Christchurch they don't pronounce his name but in whispers, as no one dares to compare him yet to the great D.C. But he's made of pure gold and now he's more than ever the man to which all eyes have silently turned.

Let me tell you his name in a whisper,

He's Stephen Brett.

Dan Carter at Perpignan

If we are to pay attention to all that speak about rugby, the 7-month sabbatical that Daniel Carter is taking in Perpignan is going to change the face of rugby world.

You can see it in most blogs and newspapers' webs. They are all awaiting the kick-off of the first Carter's game for Perpignan (against Leicester Tigers).

Is it deserved? Can Carter bring the first title to a club that has always been there but never crossed the goal line in first position? It is not going to be easy for the man from Canterbury. The biggest thing of the northern hemisphere rugby is that there are thousands of competitors; it is true at domestic competitions, but especially at the global competitions such as the Heineken Cup. I am no clairvoyant and therefore, I cannot tell the future. But I find Carter has what is needed; Carter could be the man, yes. No matter how difficult it can be, he has got it, and will take Perpignan, if not to the heavens of the Heineken Cup, to be the reference team in Europe, and of course, in France.

Daniel Carter

It is not easy at all to do this post about Daniel Carter. It is not as easy as to tell the emperor "you are naked". It never is.

Let's start from the beginning: Daniel Carter is probably the most skilled first five eighth in the world. He's also a first-class kicker, he's got the pace, the technique, the strength and the quickness; he's got to be the Roger Federer at the number 10. But unlike tennis, there's more, much more than one person fighting against another in rugby. There's a team to drag to victory.

And now, let's do some evil. Let us speak about what we don't like. Daniel Carter is not the best. Before I develop this unacceptable thought, let's remember some things:

• October 2007: Carter says he's determined to continue helping the All Blacks.
• November 2007: Carter says the burden of the World Cup is hard to bear and suggests he would like to taste northern hemisphere rugby.
• February 2007: Carter says Jonny Wilkinson is better than he is.
• February 2007: Carter is pondering leaving at the end of the season.

Daniel Carter loves the All Blacks. In 10 years time, he will feel happy if he achieves a win in a RWC with the All Blacks but will otherwise feel a vaccuum somewhere inside if he does not.

Daniel Carter has been labelled as "a star" and that's what has hurt him most ever since the moment he was given the label. Everybody expects him nothing less than perfection. Every once and again.

Daniel Carter can't wear the burden.

There's a lot of injustice with this player. He's good, he's awfully good, but he's not invincible. Pressure put on him can ultimately defeat him. He means it when he says Wilkinson is better. Jonny Wilkinson is not better, but he has won a World Cup! He's saying: "please, release me!!!" The first words you hore from him after the 2007 disaster were that he intended to stick with the team, his genuine intention was to continue trying. He does love the job, he does love the task, he does love the All Blacks. But once back in NZ, the pressure is all around. The national game, the national pride, the national choke.

I wonder who could have stood that. But anyway, as Deans says, World Cup obsession is the main cause of the downfall. Is it also one more reason for NZ players not bearing to stay in NZ?

All in all, the problem with Carter is not with Carter, it is with rugby. The All Blacks have not won the RWC and NZ cannot accept that. Blame Carter, blame Henry, McCaw, Tew, Holy Mary or Bart Simpson. The fact is that Carter has an impressive record with the All Blacks, has played awfully well sometimes, has won the Bledisloe, the Tri Nations... but the problem with him is the Webb Ellis Trophy.

He will lift it.

Carter's burden and Henry's re-applying

It is a pretty chance what we've got here: On one hand, there's Daniel Carter saying that although he loves the All Blacks it could be better for him to spend some time abroad. On the other hand, Henry's re-applying.

What's the connection between these two issues? Well, let's see: The whole New Zealand blaming at coaches and players. How many times have you heard how big was the amount of money spent in this RWC campaign just to immediately point out that this time we did it worse than ever? Lots of All Blacks leaving and... what is next? The NZRU appointing a brand new All Black coach? Is this some kind of the old "let's start over again, we can't afford failing again!"?

As I see things:
1.- Graham Henry should be considered as our best coach for the way the team has been playing for four years. Sacking him for one game lost against France (it's a game after all) is like stating: "We will not tolerate any loss".
2.- If the problem for New Zealand players is the "burden", it will certainly not be diminish in four years time. Firing Henry will only make it heavier.
3.- You can't buy success (assuming fair play). That's the beauty about sports.

Not linked? You should not fool yourself.

If players are leaving and they say "Hey, it's too much of a burden", is it of any help saying: "We don't care for the Tri-Nations victories, we don't care for the Bledisloe Cup, we don't care the 87,5%, you lost at the World Cup, you are out"?

Carter to quit the All Blacks?

Reportedly by New Zealand Herald we read that Dan Carter could be considering moving to England after his present contract with the NZRU ends next year.

What can I say? Dan has been a keystone for the Crusaders and the All Blacks for the last four years. We who support the All Blacks are extremely disappointed with New Zealand's Rugby World Cup campaign and I cannot resist the temptation of wondering whether Carter is also under any kind of post World Cup shock when stating that. After Jack, Mauger, McAllister, Hayman, etc.. left to Europe it may kind of be hard to think of keeping on fighting once again after 2003 and 2007 failures with the same old "next time we will surely make it" prospects. Dan, at 25 has already won everything that can be won both with the Crusaders and the All Blacks (except "you know what") so it seems that he is to choose between moving to England to find new goals or staying in New Zealand where for four years he won't be able to win anything that he has not already won.

On the other hand, we supporters who don't usually get tired at watching our heroes trying once and again, feel somewhat left appart by Carter. Will he do it? Will he leave us when we so badly need him? What will become of guys like Richie McCaw if they are all leaving? Will they also leave New Zealand? What will become of us, now?

I like to think of competition (any kind of competition) as the same old game with the same old clues either to win or lose. And in team sports, relationships between teammates are the key to success. Ask Gregan and Larkham for their opinion in this matter. I think that a succesful All Black team will need Carter badly. Not because he is arguably the best first five eights we can find but because he is an experienced and young guy. How long will it take to replace him in the team? Not as fly half, but as a guy? How long will it take to replace the hole left by Kelleher, Howlett, etc?

If I could have a few words with him I would like to point out that rugby in New Zealand has a special aura that he won't find in England. I guess he would miss it. We would miss him. New Zealand would miss him.

Carter, Larkham o Wilkinson?

Quedan 45 días para que empiece la Copa del Mundo. Un mes y medio para preparar, corregir, mejorar y obtener el mejor momento de forma. Algunos equipos se perfilan como claros candidatos: Nueva Zelanda (siempre la principal favorita), Australia y Francia. Otros son una incógnita. Por ejemplo Inglaterra. ¿Qué Inglaterra veremos: la de triunfante de 2003 o la desconocida de 2004, 2005 y 2006? Todo el mundo parece estar de acuerdo en que dependerá esencialmente de un hombre: Jonny Wilkinson.

Y es que así es el mundo del rugby. El número 10, apertura, fly-half, first five o como quiera que le llamemos es una pieza fundamental en el juego de los equipos. Podemos recordar los ejemplos del pasado, Jannie de Beer o Carlos Spencer influyeron notablemente en el juego de sus equipos en el pasado.

¿Qué hay de hoy en día? ¿Quién es el más influyente? ¿Quién es el mejor? ¿Quién llevará a su equipo a ganar la Copa del Mundo? Entre los tres mejores sin duda se encuentran hoy en día, Jonny Wilkinson(Inglaterra), Stephen Larkham (Australia) y Daniel Carter (All Blacks). ¿En qué orden? Por supuesto, en Londres dicen que uno, en Brisbane dicen que otro y en Auckland duicen el suyo. Pero ¿Cuál? Bien, vamos a intentar dilucidarlo.


Jonny Wilkinson: El que probablemente es el mejor apertura de la historia de Inglaterra. Obtuvo a los 19 años el puesto de apertura titular, aunque juegó con intermitencias en la Copa del Mundo que ganó Australia. Desde el partido que Inglaterra perdió contra Suráfrica (que Wilkinson no jugó), nadie ha vuelto a cuestionar su titularidad. Inglaterra ganó el 5 naciones en 2001 y 2002 y en 2003 llegó la apoteosis.
Jonny Wilkinson hizo nada menos que 113 puntos durante la Copa del Mundo de 2003, siendo en ocasiones como en las semifinales contra Francia (anotó los 24 puntos de Inglaterra) el único anotador de su equipo. De él se ha destacado sus habilidades en el placaje, su kick a palos y su concienzuda dedicación al entrenamiento. Su punto débil, sin lugar a dudas, han sido las lesiones que han impedido su participación continuada durante los 3 años posteriores a 2003. Es muy bueno a pleno rendimiento, pero este pleno rendimiento no se ve en Inglaterra desde 2003.


Stephen Larkham: Igualmente considerado el mejor apertura de la historia de Australia, es más que posible que ésta sea la última aparición de Larkham en la Copa del Mundo. Comenzó a jugar con los Wallabies como Full-back (zaguero) pero pronto pasó a ocupar la posición de first five. En el juego de Australia, el dúo que forma con el medio melé George Gregan es posiblemente el mejor de cuantos existen el rugby actual, lo que da a Australia un juego a la mano temible. A menudo se ha dicho que el principal defecto de Larkham es su kick. En las semifinals de 1999 contra Suráfrica, consiguió un legendario kick de 45 metros a escasos minutos para el final del partido, que dio la vitoria a Australia. Inmediatamente aparecieron anuncios en Australia en que compañeros y entrenadores le pedían a Larkham que no tirase, excépticos de que pudiera conseguirlo. Es la pieza clave del juego de zagueros de Australia, pero el problema de los Wallabies está en la melé.


Daniel Carter: Posiblemente el jugador con más talento en el rugby de los All Blacks, fue nombrado mejor jugador de la IRB en 2005. Después del desastre de 2003, Carter sustituyó definitivamente a Carlos Spencer en el mando de los All Blacks. Desde entonces, Nueva Zelanda ha sido considerada año tras año el mejor equipo del mundo, ganándose el singular apodo de "mejor equipo entre Copas del Mundo". Lo cierto es que el juego de Carter es fundamental para Nueva Zelanda; cuando Carter juega, Nueva Zelanda gana. Con una potente arrancada y un gran dominio del juego a la mano, Carter es el apertura que tiene la responsabilidad de organizar todo el juego de ataque de los All Blacks. Anota con facilidad tanto en el juego a la mano como a la hora de tirar a palos. Este año ha recibido muchas críticas por no estar aparentemente a la altura de lo que se esperaba de él y si no lo consigue, los All Blacks no ganarán tampoco este año.

Yo, adivinaréis, me quedo con Carter. Creo que él y los All Blacks ganarán esta Copa del Mundo y que su juego será fantástico.

Pero tú... ¿con quién te quedas?