Taking Care of Carter

Swathe and swaddle him in bubblewrap and don’t drive over any potholes but every time Dan Carter goes into a tackle, a few more threads get fidgeted out of the upholstery writes Mark Reason for The Sydney Morning Herald. “Saturday night rugby is currently as blissful as watching the dog chewing on the television flex. Why do we put ourselves through it? We all know that if Carter falls off the mantelpiece, the All Blacks will also go to pieces. But we can’t help ourselves. We can’t help ourselves because Carter is simply so good. As a postscript to that, of the 150 points scored in finals of the World Cup since 1991, 120 (or 80 per cent) have been scored through penalties or drop goals. So there’s something else to ponder ahead of D-day — Dan’s kicking boots. I don’t want to worry you, I just wanted to take your mind off all that injury scare stuff.”