Dan Carter has been controversially ranked as the 10th best fly-half in rugby history by British pundit Stephen Jones.
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Known for his critical views on the All Blacks, Jones placed the three-time World Player of the Year and two-time World Cup winner behind fellow New Zealander Andrew Mehrtens.
In an article for the Sunday Times, Jones and fellow pundit Stuart Barnes provided vastly different assessments of Carter. While Barnes ranked the former All Blacks star as the best fly-half ever, Jones placed him much lower on his list.
Jones named Wales’ David Watkins as the greatest fly-half of all time, even placing Jonny Wilkinson at 8th, ahead of Carter.
Discussing Carter, Jones noted his two career peaks: the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand and the 2015 World Cup in England. “He enjoyed a splendid run after injury in the 2011 World Cup and was probably at the second career peak in 2015 when the All Blacks won again,” Jones wrote. “His first peak was when he took majestic charge of a thumping 3-0 series victory over the 2005 Lions.”
In contrast, former England fly-half Stuart Barnes hailed Carter as “the greatest No. 10 of them all.” Barnes praised Carter’s 2005 performance against the Lions as “close to perfection” and highlighted his dominance in the 2015 World Cup semifinals and final. “The greatest No. 10 of them all,” Barnes concluded.
Stuart Barnes’ top 10 No. 10s: 1 Dan Carter (New Zealand), 2 Phil Bennett (Wales), 3 Mark Ella (Australia), 4 Barry John (Wales), 5 Jonny Wilkinson (England), 6 Jonathan Davies (Wales), 7 Stephen Larkham (Australia), 8 Michael Lynagh (Australia), 9 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland), 10 Grant Fox (New Zealand).
Stephen Jones’ top 10 No. 10s: 1 David Watkins (Wales), 2 Juan Martín Hernández (Argentina), 3 Jonathan Davies (Wales), 4 John Rutherford (Scotland), 5 Michael Lynagh (Australia), 6 Phil Bennett (Wales), 7 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand), 8 Jonny Wilkinson (England), 9 Barry John (Wales), 10 Dan Carter (New Zealand).
The 33-man England Squad Steve Borthwick Should Select For Summer Tour
It’s been a decade since England’s last visit to New Zealand, a challenging 2014 series under Stuart Lancaster resulting in a 3-0 defeat.
The memories of the 2008 tour aren’t any sweeter, with England tasting defeat in both Tests against the All Blacks. However, a glimmer of triumph emerged in 2003, as they secured a thrilling 15-13 victory over New Zealand just before the Rugby World Cup.
In this highly anticipated tour, Borthwick’s squad will face a formidable challenge with only two tests against the All Blacks, following a clash with Japan in Tokyo.
Here is the list of our predicted squad organised by their current clubs:
RUCK’s England squad for the summer:
Harlequins
- Joe Marler
- Fin Baxter
- Chandler Cunningham-South
- Marcus Smith
Bristol Bears
- Ellis Genge
- Harry Randall
- Gabriel Ibitoye
Saracens
- Jamie George
- Theo Dan
- Maro Itoje
- Ben Earl
- Elliot Daly