In terms of rugby role models, Dan Carter has to be right up there for any aspirational 10.
Carter is still the all-time leading points scorer in Test rugby, with 1,598, even though the 10th anniversary of the 112th and final cap of his stellar All Blacks career is fast approaching
That match, the final of the 2015 World Cup, was to be Carter’s crowning glory. However, many consider his 33-point contribution in the second test of the 2005 British and Irish Lions series to be the best individual match performance ever.
Very few accolades have passed him by. Carter is a three-time recipient of the World Rugby Player of the Year award, and in 2023, he was named in World Rugby’s Hall of Fame. Yet in his own household, Carter is just plain old dad to his four sons, the oldest of whom, rugby-mad Rocco, innocently gave him one of the most humbling moments he’s ever had.
All Blacks legend Dan Carter remembers the biggest kicks of his rugby career | RugbyPass
All Blacks legend Dan Carter remembers the biggest kicks of his rugby career | RugbyPass
Speaking in the next issue of Rugby Journal, which is out on Friday, Carter laughed at his own expense when he recalled: “It’s funny, because to my kids, I’m just their father, so I might tell them something, their coach will say the exact same thing, and then they’ll listen to the coach more than they’ll listen to me.
“A year or so ago,” he continued, “my now twelve-year-old son asked if I could find him a kicking coach, maybe Richie Mo’unga or Beauden Barrett, to help with his kicking.
“My wife just burst out laughing. That’s the beauty of being a parent. After about thirty seconds, he did say, ‘actually, you know something about kicking, don’t you?’
“I can try to help, but they don’t really want to listen, and I kind of enjoy that.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Carter talks about his struggles post-playing and about the need to find a new purpose in life.
“I’m just looking after my four children,” he says of his current main role. “They’re four, six, ten and twelve, and actually I’m just loving having the weekends back again.
“You kind of forget what it’s like, because when you play, your weekends are just dictated by rugby, even on a Sunday, you’re tired, beaten up from a game, so it’s actually nice to have your weekend to just chill with the family and play Uber drivers for their sports.
“Now you’re on the sidelines of junior rugby,” said Dan. “I do a little bit of coaching, I’m not the head coach, I just kind of fill in wherever I can.
“I refereed a few games, you know, like under-8s; some of the sideline parenting was horrible at times. But yeah, if I had a whistle in hand, I felt like I knew a little bit more about rugby than they did, so they tended to shut up when I was reffing.”
Fittingly, Carter’s career ended on a high note, as he added the Top League title in Japan to his three Super Rugby titles and two titles in France, before his time at Kobelco Steelers came to an end.
“I went back to New Zealand after they cancelled the Japanese season [due to covid], that was going to be my last contract,” said Carter.
“I went back to New Zealand, and started thinking about chasing other contracts and wondering if I should keep going. It
wasn’t until my son actually asked if I was going back to Japan or not. I said, ‘no’, and he said, ‘that’s the best news I’ve ever heard’, and I realised, ‘oh my God, I’m playing for the wrong reasons’.
“I’m providing for my family, but to be honest, the kids couldn’t give a shit if I was playing rugby; they just want me to be home more. That just put everything into perspective; it was the right time.”
Read the full Dan Carter interview in the new issue of coffee-table print quarterly Rugby Journal, available to order now by clicking here >>