Dan Carter lifts lid on post-retirement ‘struggles’ and expects England to ‘make a statement’ against new-look All Blacks
Dan Carter opens up on life after rugby.
The day Dan Carter hung up his golden boots the tributes poured in from far and wide – and the world’s best rugby player sat at home mourning the loss of his identity.
The All Blacks superstar won everything, had fortune to go with his fame, was healthy and not short of commercial and media opportunities. Yet he felt bereft.
“I really struggled,” he revealed. “Suddenly I was no longer a rugby player. I thought, ‘If I’m not Dan Carter the rugby player, who actually am I?'”
Carter is speaking to Planet Rugby at the launch of the Global Rugby Players Foundation, a charity set up to support retired players with career coaching, grants and well-being programmes.
Sole purpose in life
It is particularly timely coming on the day Melbourne Rebels are axed by Rugby Australia, plunging another elite squad of rugby players into the same ocean of uncertainty that consumed Worcester, Wasps, London Irish and Jersey Reds.
Carter, the game’s most sought-after player from start to end of his glittering career, never experienced such an edge-of-precipice moment. Until, that is, the day it all stopped.
“When I was playing I thought my sole purpose in life, the reason I was put on this earth, was to be a rugby player,” he said. “I’d been one for close to 20 years and all of a sudden that finished.
“I struggled with that loss of identity and lack of purpose. I wondered ‘what value do I have in society now I’ve finished rugby, what’s going to drive me to get out of bed?’
“Because for those 20 years I had known exactly what it was and that was to be the best rugby player I possibly could.”
New Zealand’s ‘civil war’ in full swing as proposal backed by Richie McCaw and Sam Cane rejected
It is three and a quarter years since he announced his retirement on Instagram, bowing out as all-time leading points scorer, two-time World Cup winner and the holder of 112 New Zealand caps.
He says he has not watched a game of rugby since and wished he was back out there playing. But does he miss the camaraderie, the community, the banter of the changing room? You bet he does.
Carter is baring his soul to explain his decision to join nine other founders of the GPRF, along with Richie McCaw, Siya Kolisi, Jonny Wilkinson, Conrad Smith, Rachael Burford, Kristine Sommer, Census Johnston, Sharni Williams and Thierry Dusautoir, under the chairmanship of George Gregan.
“We are the lucky ones yet we have all had our various challenges,” he said. “We enjoyed long careers, were part of successful teams.
“Yet there were times in my transition out of the game I really struggled. If I’m honest, I’m still working through that period of adjustment.
“Imagine the people we’re not hearing from; the player who played five games before a career-ending injury, the one who played a season or two before getting the dreaded tap on a shoulder from the coach saying you’re no longer wanted.
“This Foundation is also for them. It’s understanding that none of us are alone in this. To be part of a Foundation that can help players of all needs is something I’m really proud of and feel passionate about.”
Supported by both World Rugby and International Rugby Players, the GPRF says local solutions to global problems will be used to support players regardless of their location.
It promises on the ground funding, GPRF central delivered programmes, carrier and business coaching, community support and partnership programmes.
As Carter talks, England are preparing to head to New Zealand for two Tests this July against the All Blacks.
It would not be true to say the series is as eagerly anticipated as the clash between world champions South Africa and Six Nations winners Ireland but it is significant nonetheless.
Carter is keen to see how the men in black go in their first Tests since Scott Robertson succeeded Ian Foster following New Zealand’s World Cup final loss to the Springboks.
Stern challenge
And he believes England will prove a stern challenge in light of the progress they made in beating Ireland and pushing France all the way in the final two rounds of the Six Nations.
Carter said: “We’ve lost a lot of experienced players and obviously with the success Scott Robertson had at Super Rugby level, everyone’s wondering if he can take that success on to the international stage up against an England side that will really want to come down here and make a bit of a statement up against a new-look All Blacks side.
“I think England have actually even grown from the World Cup through the Six Nations, their ability or willingness to want to play with the ball a little bit more. I thought they played good tournament rugby to get as far as they did through the World Cup. There was a lot of risk-free rugby, they’re looking to expand and grow that and they’ve definitely got the talent there.
“Now it’s about being willing to continue to play with the ball more and play an exciting and attacking style of play which I’m sure a lot of their players would love to be a part of. It will be really interesting to see how they’ve progressed.”
