Carter not alone in agony

AS a New Zealander, it’s been hard these past 24 hours to concentrate on anything but the tournament-ending injury suffered by Dan Carter at training on Saturday. The photos of him lying on the ground in obvious agony had already warned New Zealanders that the news would not be good.

One of the Sky TV commentators, former Australian hooker Jeremy Paul, said that on his way to the studio on Sunday he felt like he was in a country in mourning. He went on to say that without Carter, New Zealand have no hope of winning the World Cup.

New Zealand rugby has great depth in most positions but Carter has been such a dominant force in recent years the majority of fringe out-halves headed offshore to further their rugby careers.