Dan Carter and Richie McCaw played together in the All Blacks for more than a decade.

Dan Carter says the All Blacks coaches deliberately picked on captain Richie McCaw to motivate the rest of the team.

The star No 10 and his former skipper played together for New Zealand for more than a decade, sitting through countless team talks from coaching and management staff.

In a question and answer session with team-mate at French club Racing 92 and former Welsh halfback Mike Phillips published on the Daily Mail website, Carter gave an insight into a interesting tactic used by All Blacks coaches during his time in the team.

"The coaches normally pinpoint the captain," the 112-test first five-eighth said. "They will make examples of missed tackles or mistakes from the leaders of the team and that sets an amazing example.

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"They don't pick on the young guys and that helps them feel like they're equal. It's a great trait. They don't go after guys who are always making mistakes either. They might pull them aside privately, but the team culture is to use examples of the best players making mistakes.

"That creates this togetherness and 'no one's better than anyone else' atmosphere. They'll pick out someone like Richie [McCaw]."

Phillips, who had joined Carter to discuss England's chances of completing the Six Nations grand slam against France in Paris on Sunday (NZ time), noted that it was different in Wales, with the senior player group protected and younger members singled out.

As an opposing player, he felt there had been a large amount of respect for the All Blacks leaders like McCaw, something Carter said was a key part of the team's success.

"There's a huge amount of humility. The team is always bigger than the individual and if it ever bends the other way, you're going to get pushed out or the leaders will come down on you hard."

Carter added there had also been a big emphasis placed on performing under pressure within the All Blacks, with mental skills coaches brought on board to help the players control their emotions and stay clear and calm in important situations.

The pair finished their chat discussing Wales' tour of New Zealand in June and the Lions tour in 2017.

Phillips quizzed his team-mate on how the loss of several senior players would affect the All Blacks, but Carter said he did not believe talk of a 'rebuilding phase' was on the mark.

"There's still a core group of players that have been together for the last four years. It's the same coaching team and there's so much depth, I don't think a lot's going to change.

"I'm sure the Welsh will back themselves. There's never an easy game for the All Blacks because, whenever they play a Northern Hemisphere side, it's a chance to beat the All Blacks and define their season.

"The Lions series next summer will be huge. That 2005 Lions tour was huge for New Zealand. As a Kiwi growing up you dream about playing them. There's already a lot of hype building back home and I think that will be a big barometer for the All Blacks."