Dear Dan, it has been now a bunch of years I have been following you. I have learnt so much about the game just by watching you play that I can’t really think of a person who compares to you.

I admire your defence. Your commitment in the tackle, your tackle technique are just impressive. I am not saying here that you are the best defensive 10, but then, I don’t see many bettering you.

Needless to say anything about your left boot. Either out of hand of from place, the best praise I have ever possibly heard about it came from Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer.

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In the first edition of the Rugby Championship, in 2012, the game in South Africa had been one of those slow-starts by the All Blacks and the Springboks had a beautiful lead. K Read and R McCaw combined to keep the All Blacks in the game and eventually you managed to go to the break a few points behind.

Then you managed to overtake them and the summary of Heyneke Meyer at that point was “Then, Dan Carter’s book took over”.

The game changed and the way you put bomb after bomb behind the back three, giving time to the defence to put pressure on them deep inside Boks territory.

Your direction of the backline is what I have always admired highest from you. In 2014 the All Blacks have struggled to replicate the fluency of the attack they had in 2013.

The power and skills were there, but the general guiding them was not this year. I think perhaps the pool game against France in RWC 2011 was one of your best games in this regard.

To sum up, I think your contribution to the game has been outstanding, and I am thankful for the chance of having seen you play.



But now, things have somewhat changed. The talk is now how the All Blacks possess four choices at five eighth.

The fashionable word seems to be injury-prone. Injury prone. Injury prone. It’s apparently in everyone’s mind.

Come next year the press (especially British press looking to destabilize the All Blacks) will repeat and repeat this. Get used to it. They won’t care that other players with a worse injury record than you (Ali Williams, Schalk Burger, Juan Smith, Jonny Wilkinson) have been able to come back and sustain long periods of play.

They will only focus at what they wish to happen to you – to get injured again.

Personally I am convinced your bad run is over. I think the good side of 2014 is that your body has not suffered much and you will hopefully see the benefits for that in 2015.

But be ready to cope with relentless attacks from all those who think that Woody is a myth, that McCaw is either a cheat or too old – and that the home nations should win more often.

And be also ready to cope with friendly fire. Like King Carlos so gallantly showed. I am sure it was just to ease you into what might become a trend.

I hope you will prove them all wrong.

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