Dan Carter: I’ve been really impressed with Ireland’s willingness to play with ball in hand

New Zealand legend Carter says the much anticipated three-Test series against Ireland in July is just the Test series the All-Blacks need

New Zealand's Dan Carter celebrates with the Webb Ellis Cup after the Rugby World Cup Final at Twickenham, London.

When Dan Carter signed off from international rugby, he was rightly proud of his 1,598 Test points. Ask him how he feels about them come Friday afternoon.

This Thursday, at 7pm local time, Carter will stride on to the familiar turf of Eden Park in Auckland and start kicking goals once more. Only this time he is aiming to land 1,598 of them, one for each of his Test points, a record haul that surpasses the next best (of one Jonny Wilkinson) by 352.