"Thank God I was never on the opposite side" - Dan Carter names the top five players he shared a pitch with
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Having called time on his illustrious career, Dan Carter has named the top five players he shared a pitch with.
Mercurial fly-half Carter confirmed on Saturday that his incredible career is over at the age of 38. The All Blacks great won the Rugby World Cup twice and is the record points-scorer in Tests with 1,598, while he was named World Rugby Player of the Year a joint-record three times. Carter claimed three Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders, while he also won honours with Perpignan, Racing 92 and Kobelco Steelers.
Carter, speaking to the Daily Mail, revealed that Jonah Lomu, Schalk Burger, Thierry Dusatoir, Jonny Wilkinson and Richie McCaw were the best five players he ever shared a pitch with.
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“[Lomu] bowled me over about five metres when I tried to tackle him in one of my first games. A superstar. Gutted I never played with him.
“[Burger was] an absolute beast. I felt like I had a target on me every time I played the Springboks.
“[Dusatoir] had some blinding games in big moments — none more so than in the 2007 and 2011 World Cup games against the All Blacks.
“[Wilkinson was] someone I really looked up to and I tried to have a similar work ethic. The 2005 Lions tour was a bit of a fanboy moment for me.
“I learnt a lot from playing alongside my old mate [McCaw]. A real leader and took us to back-to-back World Cups. Thank God I was never on the opposite side,” Carter commented.
