Two-time All Blacks World Cup winner Dan Carter announced a shock Super Rugby comeback with Auckland Blues on Thursday at the age of 38, saying he realised during coronavirus lockdown how much he missed the game.
Carter, a
three-time world player of the year, has been a free agent since returning to
New Zealand in March from Japan, where a virus-enforced shutdown ended his
lucrative stint with Kobe Steelers.
“Two things from
the lockdown that I realised was that I really enjoyed spending more time
with my family and that I miss rugby,” Carter said.
“For me it is a
chance to mentor some young players and to give back to New Zealand rugby,” he
added.
The signing comes
as New Zealand’s Super Rugby teams prepare to start a domestic tournament next
week, after COVID-19 halted the southern hemisphere championship in March.
Carter has not
played in his homeland since his international retirement in 2015, when he
helped the All Blacks seal back-to-back World Cup titles at Twickenham.
Blues head coach
Leon MacDonald said Carter signed a short-term deal as cover for injured
fullback Stephen Perofeta. He joins a squad already containing Beauden Barrett,
his successor as All Blacks playmaker.
As a replacement
player, Carter will reportedly be on a minimum contract worth NZ$1,800
(US$1,155) a week, a huge cut from the millions he earned playing club rugby in
France and Japan.
“It definitely not
about money, he’s not getting rich doing it,” MacDonald said.
As the Blues already have Barrett — himself a two-time world player of the year — Carter may fill the role of supersub off the bench.
“I have not played
for several months so it will take me a little bit of time to get game-ready,”
he said.
Former All Blacks
coach Graham Henry had no doubt Carter still had the ability to play at the top
level, despite his age.
“It’s marvellous,
he’ll add a huge amount of experience but he’s also been playing very well in
Japan,” Henry told Radio New Zealand.
All Blacks halfback
and former teammate Aaron Smith tweeted: “The goat (greatest of all time) is
back in Super rugby!”
Thumbs-up from nanna
MacDonald indicated
Carter would be behind Barrett and rising star Otare Black in the pecking
order.
“If he gets back
into playing form that warrants selection, then he could help us as a utility
back in midfield or fullback,” he said.
Carter played the
first of his 112 Tests for the All Blacks in 2003, scored a record 1,598 points
during his international career and was the world player of the year in 2005,
2012 and 2015.
He played for
French club Racing 92 after retiring from Test rugby following the 2015 World
Cup, before signing a two-year deal with Kobe Steelers in 2018.
The South Island
native already has three Super Rugby titles from his 13-year stint with the
Canterbury Crusaders and remains the competition’s top points-scorer with
1,708.
Often described as
the best fly-half to play the game, Carter revealed in his autobiography that
he turned down an approach from the Blues in 2009 after his
Crusaders-supporting grandmother Pam Carter opposed the move.
However, Nanna
Carter said on Thursday that she had no problems with the latest deal and would
support the Blues over the Crusaders when her grandson was playing for the
Aucklanders.
“I don’t care where
he plays as long as he plays,” she told stuff.co.nz.
“I miss him
playing. I’m thrilled. I heard it on the news this morning and I thought ‘Good
on you Dan’.”
The Blues claimed
the last of their three Super Rugby titles in 2003 and have not made the
playoffs since 2011.
Once regarded as a
regional powerhouse, they have been the worst performing New Zealand Super
Rugby team since 2014.