Exclusive. Dan Carter: “France are favorites against New Zealand”

You spent several years in Racing, after your world champion title in 2015. How are you experiencing this return to Paris?

I have so many good memories here… I liked everything during this break: the restaurants, the people, the culture and these fashion shows to which I could have regular access. I'm a big fan of haute couture. Clearly, the field of possibilities was infinite here and just thinking about it makes me smile.

Do people recognize you when you walk the streets of Paris?

No, not a lot and it's quite relaxing, for me. New Zealand is a small country where everyone knows me and it's obviously very different when I come back to Paris. On the other hand, people in the South of France are so crazy about rugby that I am often challenged. But it's nice.

Is it sometimes difficult to be famous? You must smile at everyone you meet, be polite in all circumstances…

No, it never weighed on me. I know how lucky I was to be able to make a living from my passion, to travel to the four corners of the world and to share so many incredible moments. Notoriety is part of the thing. It's never heavy.

Where do you live now? What is your life like?

I live in Auckland with my whole family. I am no longer into rugby at all, except on weekends when I play taxi driver for my boys: I take them from one field to another, so that they can live their passion as I have. lived mine. I also sometimes participate in a few seminars where I talk about my rugby career, where I give advice on leadership…

So your boys are playing rugby…

Yes, a little. But they prefer football! In the morning, it's rugby and in the afternoon, futsal.

Is it sometimes complicated for them to play rugby with a father like you?

No ! They are still very small. There are no expectations on my part. I never put pressure on them and neither do the people around them. It's pretty cool but between them, they like competition. The fact that my wife (Honor, a former field hockey champion) and I have defended the colors of our national team must contribute to that… (laughs) Anyway, they will decide what their life, later. I'm not going to push them to play rugby and my wife won't push them to play hockey. They are free.

Why did you never want to become a coach?

You know, I tried for twenty years to be the best rugby player I could. I sacrificed my weekends, I didn't see my family as often as I wanted… So I didn't want to go back into a similar cycle: the coaches work even harder than the players; there is a lot of uncertainty about the future, you never know where you will be in six months and I didn't want to impose that on my family… I wanted to prioritize my clan.

Racing wanted to bring you back in 2019. Why did this transfer not materialize in the end?

I simply failed the medical examination prior to signing my contract. […] Everything seemed to be going well: we had found a house, my family had packed their bags and we were getting ready to board the plane. Just before we left, the NRL called me and said, 'sorry, we can't let you play'.

How did you react?

I found it strange… The French doctors said there was a problem with my neck…

What have you done?

I immediately went to see the surgeon who has been following me for several years. He confirmed the French doctors' diagnosis: my neck had serious damage and I had to have emergency surgery. In the end, I was very lucky, one match too many could have been expensive. But even today, I really regret not having been able to return to Racing…

At this point ?

Yes. My story with Racing is not complete. I was French champion with this club (in June 2016) but I would have liked to have been able to offer them a European title… We came so close, against Leinster (2018) or Saracens (2015)…

What do you have left of the Top 14 final won in June 2016, under the colors of Racing?

I've played some great matches… But this one will always have a place in my heart and my memory. The Camp Nou is a stadium that I discovered when I played for Perpignan (2008-2009, Editor's note): I then often went to this city to see Barça matches. It was my team, I was their number one supporter. When I was told that the Top 14 final would be played in this venue, I went crazy… And then, the match itself was just incredible: we played for an hour outnumbered after the red card of Maxime Machenaud, faced all the biggest Toulon stars who, at the time, dominated European rugby so much… Honestly, it was crazy.

It is often said that the fly half is the brains of a team. For what ?

It's a little different in France, it seems, where the scrum-half has just as much importance on the conduct of the game and the decisions made by the team. In New Zealand, on the other hand, the flyhalf decides everything: the strategy, the launches of the game… The scrum half and the flyhalf are never the most imposing guys on a rugby team: they must therefore use their brain more than others. (laughs)

The relationship between a scrum-half and a fly-half is bound to be strong, isn't it?

As a number 10, your strongest relationship within the team has to be with your scrum-half. It must be a fusion between these two players because they must approach the game in the same way, decide on the directions to take at the same time. With Aaron Smith (former All Blacks scrum half, Editor's note) and the others, I spent a lot of time discussing the game project over coffee. I'm not objective but no position is more important in rugby than flyhalf and number 9.

The French XV will face New Zealand in two weeks at the Stade de France. Do the Tricolores have a chance?

It's not that they have a chance, it's that they are favorites. The French beat New Zealand in the opening match of the World Cup in 2023, and therefore leave with a psychological advantage. As is often the case at this time of year, the All Blacks arrive in Europe after having had a full season and played numerous international matches. The freshness will once again be French but the All Blacks have undeniably progressed since the start of the international season.

It is often said in France that French captain Antoine Dupont is the greatest rugby player of all time. Do you agree?

What I find incredible about this player is that he is only 27 years old. He can still learn and gain so much! Antoine Dupont, already, is an incredible leader, who always keeps his cool on the pitch: look at him, he is always so calm. And then, his explosiveness, his support and his footwork, right or left, are almost perfect. This scrum half is a real phenomenon.

Don't you fear that the French XV will be without Romain Ntamack in the coming weeks?

Romain is a special player, that’s obvious. But the pair that Thomas Ramos and Antoine Dupont form in Toulouse and in the French team is attractive: Ramos has good vision, excellent individual technique and offers another solution, at the back, during the match.

I'll be honest with you: when I watch the current matches, I have a hard time imagining myself with them…

In your opinion, who is the best opener on the planet?

I could have said Beauden Barrett but he has played a lot of fullback in recent years. For several months, Marcus Smith (the fly half of the XV de la Rose and Harlequins, Editor's note) has made a strong impression on me. He was very good in New Zealand during the last summer tour. And more recently, he seems determined to take responsibility and become the boss of the team. He's a great player.

Were you offended when you heard England international prop Joe Marler say last week that the Haka should be abolished?

No, his sentence was just taken out of context… I understood that Joe Marler especially regretted that the opposing teams can no longer face the Haka as was the case in the past, at the time when the Blues of 2007 were for example three centimeters from our faces, during Ka-Mate.

You ended your international career in 2015, after a second world champion title. Do you think international rugby has changed since then?

I'll be honest with you: when I watch the current matches, I have a hard time imagining myself with them… It's so fast, it's so powerful… The game has continued to grow in recent years.

Do you remember your first points scored with New Zealand?

Yes. It was in 2003 against Wales. We had just scored a try but we were still down by one point. The transformation was on the sidelines and I had never been so nervous in my life.

For what ?

This moment is the one I had rehearsed thousands of times in my parents' garden, the moment I had dreamed of so much in my room… When I think about it, it was crazy… The whole country looked at me: either I made people happy, or I ruined the day.

Et ?

I placed the ball, took five steps back and three to the side. I cleared my mind and the transformation happened. That's when I understood that I now wanted to take all the kicks that win matches… After this first test, it was like a race to perfection for me. The cameras couldn't capture this hard work.

Do you remember the last points of your international career?

Of course. On the day of the 2015 World Cup final, Beauden Barrett scored between the posts. The match is over, we are world champions for the second time in a row and there, I decide to undergo the transformation with the right foot (he is left-handed, Editor's note).

In what honor?

Just to pay tribute to my father (Neville): he raised me telling me to use both feet. I was still a baby when he took my leg with both hands and made a swing with it. As if to inscribe the gesture in me…

What will you miss most from your rugby past? Passes? The tackles? The kicking game?

To be honest, I still practice hilling once a week in my parents' garden (in Southbridge, South Island, Editor's note). It's my little corner of paradise. But if there's anything I'll miss, it's the locker rooms. This is where everything happens: the moments of laughter, the moments of tension or pure happiness; the spirit of a team is built in the locker room and nothing replaces that the day you stop.

Have you kept any items relating to your career?

A lot, yes. I even created a museum with my father in Southbridge, the village where I grew up: there are all my trophies there, my first crampons, the most important jerseys of my career…

The French XV experienced certain problems during its last tour in Argentina, so much so that the leaders decided to put an end to the third halves. What do you think?

Really ?

Yes. Do you think this is a good idea?

(He sighs) I can't believe it, frankly… I'm not condemning their decision, but the best moments of my rugby career were probably spent drinking a beer with my teammates right after the match, in the locker room. It was our moment, our sacred moment. It was a way of consecrating the work we had accomplished on the ground. But I am not part of the environment of the XV of France: if they decided that it was the best thing to do, it is because in their eyes it must be the best way to develop the team.