.jpg) Carter in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Daniel William Carter (1982-03-05)5 March 1982 (age 43) Leeston, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 94 kg (207 lb; 14 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Ellesmere College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative | Bill Dalley (great uncle) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daniel William CarterONZM (born 5 March 1982) is a New Zealand retiredrugby union player. Carter played for theCrusaders in Super Rugby and for New Zealand's national team, theAll Blacks. He is thehighest point scorer intest match rugby,[1] and is considered by many experts as the greatest everfirst five-eighth (fly-half) in the history of the game.[2] He was named theInternational Rugby BoardPlayer of the Year in 2005, 2012 and 2015.[3]
Carter played for the All Blacks in their Rugby World Cup winning teams in both2011 and2015, becoming one of 43 players to havewon multiple Rugby World Cups. In 2011, he captained the team against the French, shortly before he suffered a groin injury during the pool stage; in 2015, he played during the entire tournament, including in thefinal against Australia, where he kicked four penalties, two conversions, and a drop goal, and was named the man of the match. He also won threeSuper Rugby titles with the Crusaders, and nineTri-Nations and Rugby Championships with New Zealand.
Carter was born in a small town 10 minutes drive from the Carter family home inSouthbridge in theSouth Island of New Zealand, to Neville and Bev Carter and has one older sister, Sarah.[4] From the age of 5, he played with Southbridge Rugby Club as ahalf back (scrum half) and would go on to make representative teams for Ellesmere & Canterbury Country. He attendedEllesmere College where he played mostly at first five-eighth, and then in his final year he transferred toChristchurch Boys' High School to further his chances of succeeding in rugby.[5] Some have said he was a shy and quiet young man who kept grand aspirations to himself.[6] His great uncle was Canterbury and New Zealand half backBill Dalley, a member of the 1924–25Invincibles and later a Canterbury rugby administrator.
Carter made his provincial debut forCanterbury in 2002, and in 2003 was signed by the Super Rugby side theCrusaders. Initially playing mainly atsecond five-eighth Carter reached the final of theSuper 12 competition with the Crusaders in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Although they lost the 2003 and 2004 finals, in 2005 Carter had moved tofirst five-eighth. He regularly played with first-five eighthAndrew Mehrtens before Mehrtens left the team following their 2004 season. In 2005 and 2006 the Crusaders won the competition, and in the 2006 season Carter scored the most individual points for a player in one season with 221.
In April 2008, Carter was linked with several European clubs. In June 2008, Carter made the decision to sign a six-month contract with French club sidePerpignan, who then paid Carter the equivalent of £30,000 per game, during hissabbatical season.[7]On 31 January 2009 Carter ruptured his Achilles tendon playing for Perpignan against Stade Francais, but Perpignan still managed to win theTop 14 despite Carter being injured for the remainder of the season.
He recovered in time to play for his home provincial union, Canterbury, in the opening game of the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. He then won selection to play for the All Blacks against Australia on 22 August 2009 after a few months of recovery. In May 2012, Carter was the top scorer in Super Rugby history, with 1301 points.[8]
In December 2014 it was announced Carter would be joining Parisian clubRacing Metro after the2015 Rugby World Cup, on a three-year deal worth a reported €1,500,000 a season, making him the world's highest paid rugby player.[9] In November 2015 Carter revealed that, while recovering from anAchilles tendon tear in 2013, he met withRobert Kraft, the owner of theNew England Patriots of theNational Football League about possibly joining the team as akicker.[10] On 24 June 2016, Carter helpedRacing Metro win the 2016Top 14 final with a 29–21 win againstToulon atCamp Nou,Barcelona scoring 15 points (5 penalties) and was named Man of the Match despite being down to 14 men 18 minutes into the game after teammateMaxime Machenaud got sent off for a dangerous tackle on Australian internationalMatt Giteau.
On 25 November 2017, Carter leftRacing 92 in France at the end of the season.[11]
On 16 July 2018, Carter joinedKobelco Steelers, a club in the JapaneseTop League.[12]
On 17 February 2019, it was announced that Dan Carter was returning toRacing 92 as injury cover afterPatrick Lambie was forced to retire due to concussions.
On 4 June 2020, it was announced that Dan Carter was joiningThe Blues for Super Rugby Aotearoa. However he never made a professional appearance for the side.
On 20 February 2021, Dan Carter announced that he was retiring from professional rugby via his Instagram.
In June 2003, Carter made his All Blacks debut at age 21 inHamilton, New Zealand, scoring 20 points againstWales. He was then capped againstFrance inChristchurch, which the All Blacks won 31–23. He was also a substitute in a match againstAustralia (theWallabies) in Sydney, which the All Blacks won 50–21. Carter was then included in New Zealand's2003 Rugby World Cup squad, where he first gained serious international attention. Carter spent much of the later stages of the tournament on the bench leaving New Zealand without a specialist goal-kicker. However, he did play in the games againstItaly in Melbourne, which the All Blacks won 70–7, and the wins overCanada andTonga. Although he has been an All Black since 2003 he only secured a permanent position as the first five-eighth in the team during the 2004 tour to the United Kingdom and France displacingCarlos Spencer. He had been playing as a second five-eighths up until the end of the2004 Tri-Nations.
In 2005, Carter starred in the All Blacks 48–18 win over theBritish & Irish Lions. He scored two tries, five penalties, and four conversions. He ended the match with 33 points, passing the previous All Blacks record of 18 points in a Lions Test (Carter's second-half total of 22 points by itself was sufficient to top this). The performance was later described by The Guardian as "the definitive fly-half display of the modern era".[13]
Carter was named IRB Player of the Year in 2005, becoming the first New Zealander to win the award.
On 27 November 2010, after scoring a halfway penalty against Wales, Carter became the highest point scorer of all time,[14][15] overtaking England'sJonny Wilkinson's previous record of 1,178 although Wilkinson took the record back on 26 February 2011 against France. Carter reclaimed the record on 30 July 2011 when he advanced to 1,204 points in the first tri-nations match of the 2011 series against South Africa.[1] He has currently scored a total of 1,598 test points (29tries, 293conversions, 281penalties, and 8drop goals) in 112 tests, with an average of 14.27 points a game (the highest average for players who have scored more than 500 Test points). Along withRichie McCaw Carter earns 750,000 NZD a year being the joint highest paid player in New Zealand. This high paying contract by the New Zealand Rugby Union is not subject to form or fitness as both players are regarded as integral to the All Blacks2011 Rugby World Cup plans. It was announced on 1 October that Carter would captain the All Blacks for the first time against Canada. However, it was later announced that Carter would miss the rest of the2011 Rugby World Cup after tearing a groin tendon during the final training session before the match against Canada.[16] Carter has signed a contract to re-sign with the NZRU until 2015.[17]
Carter was named IRB Player of the Year in 2012,[18] but eyebrows were raised when he missed out being named in the shortlist for New Zealand Player of the Year.[19]On 16 November 2013, Carter became the fifth All Black to play 100 caps when New Zealand defeatedEngland by 30–22 atTwickenham on theirend of year tour.[20]
On 17 July 2015, Carter andRichie McCaw played their final match in Christchurch together, after Carter took a deal to play forRacing Metro in France.[21] On 15 August 2015 Carter played his final test in New Zealand in theBledisloe Cup decider atEden Park, a trophy he has never lost since his debut.[22] He later appeared with McCaw in aMen In Black themed safety video forAir New Zealand.[23]
In the2015 Rugby World Cup final against Australia, Carter scored four penalties, converted two tries (with the final one taken with his right boot), and kicked a drop goal that gave the All Blacks the winning moment. Due to the performance, he was named the Man of the Match.[24] Following the All Blacks' victory, he received theIRB Player of the Year[25] award for the third time.
Carter holds the world record for the total number of conversions (293) and also total number of penalties (281) in rugby.He also holds the record for test points scored against England (178), France (163) and South Africa (255).[26]
Carter is the only player in rugby history to have scored more than 1,500 test points a total of 1,598 which is 352 more than second placeJonny Wilkinson. Carter also holds the record for average points per match (for players who have scored more than 500 points) of 14.27.[27]
Carter holds the all-time record for most conversions in World Cup matches at 58.
Test record overall:[28]
| Opposition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Winning % | Tries | Conversions | Penalties | Drop goals | Points total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 1 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 67 |
 Australia | 27 | 20 | 1 | 6 | 74.1 | 3 | 48 | 82 | 3 | 366 |
| British & Irish Lions | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 44 |
 Canada | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 47 |
 England | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 90.9 | 4 | 28 | 34 | 0 | 178 |
 Fiji | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
 France | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 91.7 | 2 | 33 | 28 | 1 | 163 |
 Ireland | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 87 |
 Italy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 53 |
 Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Pacific Islanders | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
 Samoa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 32 |
 Scotland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 62 |
 South Africa | 19 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 78.9 | 3 | 33 | 55 | 3 | 255 |
 United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
 Tonga | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
 Wales | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 5 | 25 | 29 | 0 | 162 |
| Total | 112 | 99 | 1 | 12 | 88.4 | 29 | 293 | 281 | 8 | 1598 |
Test tries:[29]
| Tries | Opposition | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wales | Hamilton, New Zealand | Waikato Stadium | Test match | 21 June 2003 | Won |
| 1 | Australia | Sydney, Australia | Stadium Australia | Tri Nations | 26 July 2003 | Won |
| 1 | Italy | Melbourne, Australia | Docklands Stadium | Rugby World Cup | 11 October 2003 | Won |
| 1 | Tonga | Brisbane, Australia | Lang Park | Rugby World Cup | 24 October 2003 | Won |
| 1 | England | Auckland, New Zealand | Eden Park | Test match | 19 June 2004 | Won |
| 1 | Italy | Rome, Italy | Stadio Flaminio | Test match | 13 November 2004 | Won |
| 1 | France | Paris, France | Stade de France | Test match | 27 November 2004 | Won |
| 1 | Fiji | North Shore City, New Zealand | North Harbour Stadium | Test match | 10 June 2005 | Won |
| 2 | British & Irish Lions | Wellington, New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | Test match | 2 July 2005 | Won |
| 2 | Wales | Cardiff, Wales | Millennium Stadium | Test match | 5 November 2005 | Won |
| 1 | Argentina | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Ferrocaril Oeste | Test match | 24 June 2006 | Won |
| 1 | South Africa | Rustenburg, South Africa | Royal Bafokeng Stadium | Tri Nations | 2 September 2006 | Lost |
| 1 | England | London, England | Twickenham | Test match | 5 November 2006 | Won |
| 1 | France | Lyon, France | Stade de Gerland | Test match | 11 November 2006 | Won |
| 3 | Canada | Hamilton, New Zealand | Waikato Stadium | Test match | 16 June 2007 | Won |
| 1 | South Africa | Christchurch, New Zealand | Lancaster Park | Tri Nations | 14 July 2007 | Won |
| 1 | Scotland | Edinburgh, Scotland | Murrayfield | Test match | 23 September 2007 | Won |
| 1 | England | Auckland, New Zealand | Eden Park | Test match | 14 June 2008 | Won |
| 1 | England | Christchurch, New Zealand | Lancaster Park | Test match | 21 June 2008 | Won |
| 1 | South Africa | Cape Town, South Africa | Newlands Stadium | Tri Nations | 16 August 2008 | Won |
| 1 | Australia | Brisbane, Australia | Lang Park | Tri Nations | 13 September 2008 | Won |
| 2 | Wales | Dunedin, New Zealand | Carisbrook | Test match | 19 June 2010 | Won |
| 1 | Australia | Melbourne, Australia | Docklands Stadium | Tri Nations | 31 July 2010 | Won |
| 1 | Scotland | Edinburgh, Scotland | Murrayfield | Test match | 13 November 2010 | Won |
Carter became engaged to his longtime girlfriend and formerBlack Sticks strikerHonor Dillon in October 2010 when she was a marketing manager atDB Breweries.[30] The couple married on 9 December 2011,[31] and have gone on to have four children.[32][33][34][35] Wedding guests includedRichie McCaw and All Blacks former coachGraham Henry.[36]
Carter has modelled forJockey underwear on billboards worldwide since 2003.[37][38] In 2009, Carter's future wife joined him in one campaign.[39] In 2004 and 2005, Carter was voted sexiest New Zealand male in a survey, receiving 35.7% of the vote in 2005.[40] In 2008, American Cable Channel E! judged Carter to be 11th on its list of the world's sexiest men,[41] and in 2010 E! voted him the world's 3rd sexiest male athlete.[42]
Carter has also been aspokesmodel forDaikin heat pumps,[43] and from mid-2011,Philips electric shavers.[44] Both Dan and Honor Carter have been spokespeople forChemist Warehouse since 2020. They are also shareholders for Farradays, a luxury department store and bar inParnell.[45]
In February 2017, Carter was caught driving in Paris with a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit.[46] He was subsequently dropped by his sponsor,Land Rover.[47]
In May 2018, Carter stated that he declined an offer to switch toNational Football League (NFL) as akicker forNew England Patriots after The Rugby World Cup in 2015.[48]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year 2015 | Succeeded by |
|
