England fly-half George Ford can be as good as New Zealand legend Dan Carter, according to Bath coach Todd Blackadder.
Kiwi Blackadder coached Carter for seven years at Crusaders in New Zealand, and since arriving at Bath this summer has been hugely impressed with Ford, who scored 18 points in the season-opening victory at Northampton on Saturday.
"You know you've got a world-class player in front of you," he told The Times. "You see it in the way that he trains and the way he plays. You saw it at the weekend - awareness, time on the ball."
Blackadder sees no reason why Ford cannot become as good as Carter, who was the world's leading fly-half for a decade and regarded as one of the greatest of all time.
"He's almost there now," he said. "They are great players both sides of the ball. People always looked at the attacking side of Dan's game but he is a great defender.
"Not many No 10s are brave when it comes to putting their bodies on the line. George puts his body in some hard places.
"What makes him exceptional is his awareness and skillset. He is going to get better and better."