Dan Carter imperfect but still important

BY TOBY ROBSON IN LONDON

Dan Carter stepped somewhat clumsily into the history books, but he still outshone the man he's chasing.

When he banged over the first of four penalties on the night, Carter eased past fellow Cantabrian, Andrew Mehrtens, as the All Blacks' leading test points scorer.

By night's end, Carter sat on 980 points, fourth on an all-time list led by England opposite, Jonny Wilkinson, with 1125.

But make no mistake, history will judge Carter a more complete player than either Mehrtens or Wilkinson, regardless of the points tally he leaves behind.

It spoke volumes that missing two penalties and misjudging a line kick by a couple of metres was such a talking point after the All Blacks 19-6 win over England.

"I guess we are used to perfection aren't we, and when he misses a couple of goals it's not perfection for him, so he will be disappointed in that," All Blacks coach Graham Henry said.

"But he's a big defender, a big man in the side.

"He can't expect 10 out of 10 every time, but 9.5 is not too bad."

Carter has scored his points in 65 tests, five fewer than Mehrtens, and it is the other elements of his game that set him apart from his peers.

Defensively, Carter had a huge influence against England, his try-saver on Tom Croft one of several crucial tackles.

On attack he was not at his sublime best. He missed two easy penalties, but still managed to get 14 of the All Blacks' points and the back-handed ball he slipped to fullback Mils Muliaina in the first half was close to the highlight of the night.

"Just to have him [Carter] out there," his captain Richie McCaw said.

"He might not get everything right, but the confidence he is giving the guys around him, because he's calling the shots, is huge.

"He might make a mistake or whatever, but he still has that confidence and that's enough for the guys around him."

Carter himself said he was proud of the record, but predictably nonplussed by miscuing a couple of kicks.

"It's a great feeling. I'm very proud and it's probably something I will look back on at the end of my career [with pride]," he said.

"To take over from a good mate of mine in Mehrts is something I'm pretty happy with. Hopefully, there's a few more points to be scored in my career.

"It was pretty frustrating out there in terms of ball in hand. Things weren't gelling as we'd have liked and to miss a couple of kicks is never much fun.

"But in saying that you take the good things with the bad and I was extremely happy with my defensive game.

"Not only myself, but the team really got off the line and defended well, and that's what set up our win tonight," Carter said.

That, and a first five-eighth who even on an off night is good enough to guide his side to a comfortable test win.

Scoring Points

All-time top points scorers in tests:

Jonny Wilkinson (England/Lions) 1998-Present, 79 matches 1125 points
Neil Jenkins (Wales/Lions) 1991-2002, 91 matches, 1090 points
Diego Dominguez (Argentina/Italy) 1989-2003, 76 matches, 1010 points
Dan Carter (New Zealand) 2003-Present, 65 matches, 980 points
Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand) 1995-2004, 70 matches, 967 points

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