Dan Carter ruled out of tournament

[ohtani's jacket]

I think Slade the distributor can work if we dominate the opposition, which we'll hopefully do against Argentina barring some sort of horror show, but I wouldn't like to see Slade in an arm wrestle. I don't mind that he makes mistakes. If we're being honest, Carter makes plenty of mistakes. It's Slade's nervousness that I find off putting. Even when he does good things you never get the feeling that he's building in confidence. Henry keeps saying that he needs more time. Someone ought to remind him the knockout stuff starts next weekend.

[Hurricane]

i don't even want Cruden name to the reserve bench....he tries to do it all himself instead of shovelling the ball on.

[Hurricane]

RWC: Can the All Blacks win the RWC without Dan Carter? Rugby-Talk

It’s impossible to overstate the significance of the tournament-ending injury to Dan Carter.

The All Blacks to my mind are now possibly equal with the pack.

With Carter they had a world-class asset that made them odds-on to win the World Cup; now they’re still among the contenders but have suffered a favouritism setback.

He’s that important. With Carter the All Blacks would have comfortably implemented their game-plan, executed moves and kicked the big goals to win the tournament. In essence, we have lost an edge we once had because we have lost a weapon that’s irreplaceable.

If people don’t believe me, sit down and watch the French game again.

Israel Dagg was player of the match but for me Carter was the best player on the paddock. He created nearly everything the All Blacks did and that was because he reads the game so well.

When you talk about game management, it’s not just kicking and passing when you’re supposed to – it’s kicking at the right time and distance, and it’s passing to the right player. It’s picking those moments that he is the best in the world at.

Carter out may have a silver-lining for NZ. The rest of the AB team members now know they have to lift their game to compensate. It has been complacency and unexpected set-backs during games that might have been part of why NZ ‘choked’ in the previous three World Cups.

The positive for NZ in all this is that can now adjust and take remedial/corrective steps. They can rehearse certain options with the new No10 and make sure they have senior players around the new player and get everyone in the team on speed. It’s not ideal but far better than losing pivotal talisman during a match and trying to adjust under pressure.

In summary; I think the injury to Carter made NZ more vulnerable but it will still require a special team and monstrous effort to beat this NZ team.

[Zinzan]

It's easy to forget that he's also one of the best defensive players in the side.