Left hanging: Carter hearing delayed until Tuesday
Dan Carter's disciplinary hearing has been postponed until Tuesday, at the request of the New Zealand team management.
The All Blacks fly-half was cited for a dangerous tackle on Wales scrum-half Martin Roberts during his side's 19-12 victory at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Carter was due to appear before Judge Jeff Blackett, the International Rugby Board-appointed judicial officer for the match, at a hearing today.
The case will be heard in London.
Carter escaped censure from referee Craig Joubert at the time but Wales head coach Warren Gatland and assistant Shaun Edwards both believe the challenge deserved a yellow card.
With Carter facing a one-match ban if found guilty - as team-mates Sitiveni Sivivatu (dangerous tackle) and Tony Woodcock (striking) received in Tokyo - then he would be back to face England at Twickenham on November 21.
The All Blacks are currently preparing for this weekend's Test against Italy at the San Siro stadium in Milan, a game Carter would probably have been rested for anyway.
Meanwhile, New Zealand assistant coach Steve Hansen took aim at Gatland as the All Blacks prepare to fight to clear their star pivot.
Hansen was unimpressed with Gatland's comments after the All Blacks win in Cardiff when he said Carter should have been sin-binned for his 72nd-minute high shot on Roberts.
"It doesn't help that Warren has got a bit upset by it, but he's his own man and he did a lot of talking through the week so why would he stop at the end of it?," Hansen told NZPA.
Hansen, who will accompany Carter to the hearing said he had a lot of faith in Blackett and expected the All Blacks fly-half would get a fair trial.
He admitted he was "a wee bit" surprised by Carter's citing, which came after the number ten was named man-of-the-match but booed by the 74,000-strong packed house after the tackle on a try-bound Roberts.
"I think we've got a good case but, again, it's pointless talking about it in the media," said Hansen.
"Once you go into the hearing it's better to keep your gob shut and let the process sort itself out."
Asked his opinion of the tackle, Hansen offered: "I've seen plenty of them before, we'll just leave it at that."
Roberts meanwhile said Carter offered an apology, which he accepted.
"Looking at the replay it did look quite high. He did apologise to me. He said 'sorry for the tackle' after the game," he told reporters.
"Things like that happen in games, and you just have to take it on the chin. It looked bad, but I was fine."
While he was guarded on his feelings about whether the citing was justified, Hansen also ducked the tricky issue of whether Carter would have been named to play Italy anyway.
It is widely understood Carter was set to rest along with several other frontliners this week, with coach Graham Henry saying the Italy Test was a chance to give more fringe players a chance.
"We haven't picked the team yet so we'll just wait and see. Now we're in this hearing we don't know. Until we find out what penalty he gets we can't make any decision," Hansen said.
Regardless of Carter's status, the fly-half selection for Saturday is an intriguing one, with Stephen Donald, Luke McAlister and the uncapped Mike Delany all pressing for a chance, although McAlister could be used in his favoured inside centre spot.
"There will be some changes because we've stated we want everyone to play and this is an opportunity for some people to play," Hansen said.
The iconic San Siro stadium was already sold out for the test, with a 75,000-strong crowd expected.
"There's not many guys who've been to Milan and the fact that they know they're going to play in front of 80,000-odd people is exciting, particularly in a stadium that has so much history behind it," said Hansen.
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