Confirmed-Carter gone.

NZ's chances just took a huge hit. I'd say South Africa are the favourites now. Gutted.

Yep I would favour SA to get into the final now, although they are missing Steyn!

I think that title belongs to australia now.

sorry to hear that, he will be missed.

BIG NEWS!!!!level playing field right about now . Its still the Al blacks to lose though, its going to come down to the Aussie pack and how they cope with the Bok

The last time I looked the All Blacks were still in the RWC,they know the worst get a replacement in.
The squad now has to adapt,Graham Henry should bite the bullet and say Slade is first choice,OR Weepu is first choice,
THEN back that player all the way not having him going on the field fearful
of his place.
Question is will he call up another Fly half,or a specialist 7,the problem of having one player.
Everyone says you can`t do without like Johnny Wilkinson you have to adapt.
The All Blacks have a great squad and have to battle on,The Boks won`t miss Steyn half as much DeVilliers is a much more creative player..
Australia have a lot of injuries ,so that match is a doubt unless Italy do a number on Ireland.

Bullsbok it was level with him IMO! I'd say with Australia being so erratic and NZ losing their talisman, SA may have just assumed the favourites mantle. I can't see us dominating your pack enough to give Slade the ride he needs to get the others going.

will they bring in Cruden?

Cruden's in already.

for who

One of the worlds best players out of a major tournament thats being played on his home soil.
I for one am gutted for him he must be devastated.

Sorry mate-he's already been named to replace DC.

Now that the shock has worn of and my brain is commenting , i still think the all blacks will win the WC . They still have Dagg , Nonu ,Smith and jsut as long as Slade puts in decent enough perfomances they should just about to get over the finish line (compared to galloping emphatically with Carter at the helm)

Cymroglan wrote:One of the worlds best players out of a major tournament thats being played on his home soil.
I for one am gutted for him he must be devastated.

I'd say he's got that same look on his face as he did sitting in the stands at Cardiff. Just horrible.

Manawatu fly-half Aaron Cruden has been brought into the squad.

Crudon`s there? right you now have two fly halves who are competent,Morne Steyn apart from his goal kicking is just that.
No matter how much people denigrate them the All Blacks can field a backline .
Most sides in the world would kill for, a bizarre thought SBW covering flank.he was a league flanker.
Forwards get your fingers out,do it for DC you have one of the best packs in the world.
He deserves a winners medal,I hope he will stay with the squad and coach the youngsters.Presumeably IF the win he still gets a winners medal.
Get Thomson and Read fit for Argentina,McCaw for the semi ,and final if they get that far.
They know the worst,cut out the high risk stuff,play a structured game let the forwards create the platform.
Then trust the backs to finish.

really emack ? this thread is about Carter but you go out of your way to call Steyn just competent? 400 test points 34 test caps . The nerve old man

Who is denegrating the all blacks?

As bullsbok said above the all Blacks still has nonu, dagg, smith etc.

And I would rate Morne Steyn a little better than just a kicker.

That's a real shame, you've got to try and put yourself in Carter's shoes before scoring points off each other.

He must be wounded.

Franny Steyn is a very talented player,especialy with his goal kicking,last year .He , has played in several positions without really nailing one down
he is a loss for his siege gun boot.
BUT with due respect not the loss Carter is,in MY opinion de villiers is more creative at centre.
Morne Steyn works well with Fourie du Preez,it is only a few months ago,your own SA media.wanted to drop him.
He suits your more conservative game plan,puts you in the right areas,and he is a crack goal kicker.
Among the best 1ve seen for consistency don`t know his range few have
ability of Franny Steyn for siege gun kickers in NZ.
Don Clarke,Mick Williment ,a bloke called Watson were commonplace siege gun kicking full backs it was part of the Cv for the job.

Gentlemen to put things straight,my comment about Morne Steyn was NOT
meant as a slight.It was meant as an illustration that the fly half does`nt have to be a razzle dazzle player.Think Carlos Spencer and Andrew Merthens.I`d rather have Merthens every time,today that would be Carter and Cooper.
SA have more creative fly halves than Morne Steyn,if you choose to pick them.THAT is not meant as a slight,Johnnie Wilkinson has any number of points and caps.
BUT creativity is not something he majors in,I apologise for treading on someones sensitivites it was NOT intended just making a point.
Nz are not blessed with realy outstanding 9s currently but the are competent,the 10`s outside Carter.Have had no game time Slade/Ellis and Weepu/Cruden have played together at Super level.
It`s now down to the team,RWC`s are always effected by injuries how you cope with them that is important.

Maybe alan but steyn has his weaknesses as well and theyll be exposed as anyone elses will be on the big stage.
Boks have still struggled against lower tier teams so jurys out on that one.
Your comments always seem to say.."i support the abs BUT.... Bokke bokke bokke..."
thats the way they come across. Thats all good. Just nakes for some confusing reading.
ABs will get around this as theyre so strong in all other areas.
Nothing like a bit of extra motivation.
Plus wasnt it merts who threw the pass to mortlock?
For me after today the original formula hasnt changed. Eden park. 60000.Still unbeaten at the venue in wcups by min. 20 Points and one loss since 86.

We did what we had to do Taylorman, and if you rate this samoan team as lower tier you are doing them a disservice.

Wait for next weekend, not sure whetehr we will pull it off, but it will be a strong performance.

Australia didn't look too flash either during the pool stages.

But I like it, we are still being written off by most.

Nothing better for a Bok being told he is conservative and lucky to have won.

Hi Taylor,
It was Spencer who threw the pass the Mortlock.
But to the point, Carter is a loss, no doubts, but he is not the whole team. I think they will adjust and do fine with Slade, Weepu or possibly Cruden.
Carter's loss is a blow for the media, though, as they lose one of the RWCs big stars.

Taylorman,I support the All Blacks,I respect other sides too All sides have weaknesses.
With Dan Carter gone,you now have too inexperienced 10`s,the team has to close around them and support them.
Whoever they start at 10,he has to be himself,NOT Dan Carters understudy,
hopefully DC will be around the squad to give tips etc.
If he has a less than perfect game,instead of getting on his back the coaches,team ,media have got to encourage him.
He`s walking into the biggest pair of boots in rugby time for him to shape up .
The Boks have won 2 RWCs,they have the classic game,I expect them to beat Australia whose injury problems are worst than the ABs.
The semi assuming they get past Argentina will be There Final,v the Boks.
I have the greatest possible respect for the Boks,conceded 2 tries in 4 games there defence is superb.
You may not like keeping the score board ticking over,BUT in 1995,2003,2007 there were very few tries scored in the final.
In two no try at all was scored,I know you love flowing rugby but with the possible loss of McCaw as well.
A win may have to come the hard way,

Is DC likely to be around in 2015? i would be gutted for him if he didn't have the opportunity to compete for a RWC again and win one

Well he is 29 years old now, so maybe he can, depends who the coach then seas as the primary flyhalf.

Gutted for him....really am

Slade still not convincing today and moved to wing to accomodate Weepu at 10.

Slade was then brought off and Vito moved to the wing. This would imply some sort of injury to Slade, there was also another knock for Dagg. Oh the peril!

If Slade has anything wrong with him, I don't care about the residential rules, break them and bring Nick Evans back.

Most worrying was the knock to the head for Woodcock f. He seemed unconscious as he fell, and if concussed, he'll be out for Argentina game.

Luckily Argentina aren't renowned for scrummaging

Chewed mintie forget it,Evans is a NH player now,has`nt trained with the All Blacks for 4 years.Considering Cowans service ,and the half charged kick
he went well Goal kicking aside.
As was proved in the England v Scotland goalkicking is difficult,Weepu needs game time so he was given a run.
Carter s gone the team just have to adapt without him they`ve done it before and won.

Yeah biltong comes back to a whole bunch of one offs. For me none of the topliners have been too hot. Even us.
This happened last world cup. Come knockouts the whole environment changed.

emack - Evans is a class apart, he's not a McAlister who believes his own hype. Evans is one of the rare ones who seems to have got better as a player for going North.

i'm more than happy for Slade and Weepu to take the reigns. Slade's injury is a concern though. They've brought in Crudne already, if Slade is out (unlikley) well I'd rather Evans over anyone else in NZ to come in.

Great shame for Carter. The success of SH sides is consistent availability of their best players, which England can only dream of as their players are contracted to clubs rather than central unions resulting in a damaging injury rate through the seasons for any established combinations of players.
The replacements are all good players but can the ABs now adapt has to be the question that the other teams will be asking.

A tragedy for two reasons.

The RWC is deprived of the best player in the world

NZ have a ready made excuse if they don't win

Oohhh. Provacative for a moderator...

Firstly, they're called reasons, not excuses.

Secondly, I see the loss of Carter as something that may Galvenise the team and release some of the pressure. No one is realistically expecting NZ to triumph without Carter. If they do it will make victory all the sweeter.

A lot of other sides have lost key players too, either through injury (for most sides) or probably suspension (in England's case).

RWC is about having the best squad through the attritional process. If NZ don't win with or without Carter, we didn't have the best squad (or some ref mucked up some key decision again) and in the case of the former, there will be no complaints.

Of course, not facing Carter might take some of the gloss off for any rival victor, but I don't think they'll be turning in their winners medals in any case...

GreyGhost - I'm not a moderator for the rugby section - I'm a regular member

It doesn't matter a whit if you call them reasons or excuses - the end result is the same. There will be plenty of NZ fans who will talk about the lack of Carter, should NZ not win. I don't know (and frankly don't care) if you are one of them or not. The post wasn't aimed at you to start with.

Fact is the RWC is worse off for not having the best player in the world in the QFs

Yes, if NZ go out then a lot of NZ fans will talk about the absence of Carter. As would any side who had lost one of their best players to injury prior to a loss.

I don't really see what's wrong with that.

I agree, I prefer to see a world cup where all the top players are playing. But we can't all be the French selectors

Boks still miss Juan Smith I'll bet. And look at Aussie. They have quite a few out which sucks. Pocock was missed vs Ireland-though the Irish technique of keeping the ball up off the deck meant he wouldn't have made that much difference.

Losing Carter is like NZ losing their Queen in a game of chess. I'm still just really gutted for the guy though let alone my team's hopes. Goes for Smith, Mitchell, Sheridan et al.

world cups are all about squads.

The biggest problem about this blame angle- is that its another excuse for new zealand -YOU ARE STILL IN THE WORLD CUP_ STOP EXCUSES _ STOP TALKING ABOUT THE NEXT ONE- very strange. There squad is still the best. I am baffled again, by it all.

Baffled by fans being upset that one of the key play makers is injured? and that we're gutted for him and the impact on the team's chances? Yes, baffling.

You honestly think you are gonna loose this because you have lost one player- lol. get a grip, i hope your right mind

but funnily enough you havent got the point.

i am baffled by the constant excuses and devluing of the WC by NZ when there are still in teh WC

No one is doing that Oakey. It's in your head. We're just rightly devastated that Carter is out. We know it impacts our chances of winning, as would any fan of any country who had lost a key player.

Suggest you are trying to have a thinly veiled pop at NZ because you are bored and upset you got modded on another thread.

How is that devaluing the WC? It's merely hypothesising that if NZ were not to win the tournament that this would be one of the reasons why. Not the sole reason. Kind of like saying Barnes was the one solely responsible for 07 without paying heed to poor Kiwi decision making under pressure and some of the most desperate defence you will ever see.

Carter's loss happening now gives us at least a bit of time to prepare-not like during a game. He is one of the reasons why this side is a damn good one, but he can't win games on his own. We have the best loose trio and the most dangerous backs from 12 out. Add a rock solid front 5 and we're still as well placed as any and good enough to take the absence of any player out of the equation when it comes to winning test matches. Even one of Carter's calibre.

disneychilly wrote:How is that devaluing the WC? It's merely hypothesising that if NZ were not to win the tournament that this would be one of the reasons why. Not the sole reason. Kind of like saying Barnes was the one solely responsible for 07 without paying heed to poor Kiwi decision making under pressure and some of the most desperate defence you will ever see.

Carter's loss happening now gives us at least a bit of time to prepare-not like during a game. He is one of the reasons why this side is a damn good one, but he can't win games on his own. We have the best loose trio and the most dangerous backs from 12 out. Add a rock solid front 5 and we're still as well placed as any and good enough to take the absence of any player out of the equation when it comes to winning test matches. Even one of Carter's calibre.

It doesnt devalue the worldc up- well it does in a way but only from losing a good player. - that is however not what we are talking about

The devaluation of the world cup is what kiwis love doing- esp on here- Tri nations are more importanat- no point playing small nations,reduce the teams dont increase and make itr global. whiging during the world cup to try and steal more of the pot!!, that sort of trash, you know fueld from previous chokes

Oakey, you are rapidly becoming a WUM.

What do you want us to say? That NZ are mentally fragile and losses can be ascribed simply to the concept of the "choke" whereby we are vastly superior to any other team and in effect beat ourselves because we are afraid to win?

If that's the case, then it sounds like it's you that is devaluing the world cup, by suggesting NZ are the only team fit to win it, but are psychologically incapable of doing so.

Doesn't sound like much of a competition in that case.

i am not devaluing the point of the world cup. however if NZ did play the way they can - your right it could be very one sided.

NZ are massive favourites, the fact the carter has gone is making it more interesting- yes.

I love the classic victim mentality of you guys tho, just pointing it out

You're not doing a very good job of pointing it out then, because I have no idea what you're talking about.

Who's claiming to be victimised?

NZ aren't a one-man team but for Henry not to have a credible plan B is surprising considering they have covered every other base.

Losing one talisman like Carter isn't fatal but the ABs will know they have a somewhat fragile McCaw who will be targetted with some South American attention and losing a second one could be.

Whatever happened to the emoticon?

It defies belief that a professional sportsman who is arguably the best 10 the world has ever seen, without doubt the best of the professional era, can get injured and denied the opportunity to appear on the world stage at the games showpiece event, and all I'm reading are brickbat, Holly Wilaboobie-for-tat, point-scoring arguments about how that's going to affect NZ or the validity of this competition!!

I would have expected to have seen more posts focusing on how terribly sad it is for Carter, but clearly my levels of expectation are set too high.

How very sad.

it is sad but it is also bl00dy unbearable, if they don't win this time they 'll spend the next 4 years telling us they are the 'best' team int he world and would have won if jupiter had been aligned with uranus and carter was fit, pretty good job they are boycotting RWC 2015.