Dan Carter’s take on All Blacks’ fly-half debate and weighs in on Scott Robertson’s charges failure to deliver ‘at key moments’
All Blacks Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett with an inset of Dan Carter.
Dan Carter has weighed in on the pressure Scott Robertson is under and who could be wearing the All Blacks number ten shirt at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
After playing 112 Test matches for New Zealand, Carter certainly knows a thing or two about representing the All Blacks in the jersey but, even with that knowledge, he is unable to predict who will take those reins at the World Cup in Australia.
Scott Robertson has chopped and changed between Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett as the first-choice first-five eight in the opening two years of his tenure, and the selection frame is set for a fresh twist in 2026.
Barrett, McKenzie or Mo’unga?
That is because Richie Mo’unga, who was the go-to number 10 in 2023, is returning from a stint in Japan and once again becomes eligible for All Blacks selection.
“Oh, jeez. Your guess is as good as mine,” Carter coyly responded when asked at the 2027 World Cup draw who he thinks will be the starting fly-half at the tournament.
“Obviously, Beaudy’s been steering the ship this year.
“We had DMac for the majority of last year, and we’ve got Richie Mo’unga coming back.”
For most of his All Blacks career, Carter was the straightforward selection at number 10 when fit and only missed out on games through injury or when the coaches wanted to build depth.
However, he is pleased to see so much competition for the position he once dominated.
“What I love about that is the competition,” he continued.
“So exactly who is driving the ship, everyone has the opportunity to grab a hold of that jersey, but they’ll all be competing, and that’s exactly what you want.
“The coaches have come out and said that they want squad depth, you know, three to four players in each position. And when you have world-class players and depth in key positions like the number 10 jersey, then it’s a real positive.”
World Cups are a different beast
The 43-year-old did warn that the pressure a fly-half is under is completely different in Rugby World Cups than any other Test match.
He said as much when asked what are the important attributes a number 10 must have to be successful in 2027.
“You’ve got to do your core basics well, the fundamentals of the game, in the 10 jersey because World Cups are different,” he said.
“There are different expectations and pressures. Things happen in World Cups that you can’t even imagine, whether it’s referee decisions or cards or injuries, you just don’t know.
“So, you want the drivers of the team to just be doing the fundamentals of the game and performing under those extreme amounts of pressure. So, great communication, great kicking, passing, and just directing the team around the field are really important. But also that ability to change momentum, when the game’s needed.”
New Zealand have lifted the William Webb Ellis Cup on three occasions, two of which while Carter was in the team.
While it has been a rocky two years under Robertson since he took over from former head coach Ian Foster, the ex-playmaker believes that the squad is talented enough to deny South Africa a three-peat.
All Blacks’ struggles
“I think they’ve definitely got the players to win a World Cup. They’ve been working on building depth but now we just need to start working on combinations, consistency and monitoring the growth over the next two years,” he said.
“You don’t win World Cups two years out from the tournament. So, just as long as the trajectory is forward over the next couple years, they’ll definitely put themselves in the best possible shape to do that.”
Pressed as to whether the pressure that Robertson is under was fair or not, Carter replied: “We’ve got to support Razor and the beauty with New Zealand is we’re just so passionate and have such high expectations, and I love that pressure that it brings to the team and the head coach.
“He has been trying to grow depth and he’s been quite open about that but there’s been key moments in the last couple of seasons that we just haven’t quite delivered.
“As long as he’s learning from those and I’m confident that he will be and the coaching group will be learning from those losses, then they’ll only grow and continue to get better.
“As long as they are continuing to grow and improve, then they put themselves in good stead for a World Cup in 2027.”
