Dan Carter admits New England Patriots move was close
Saturday 14 November 2015 16:23, UK
New Zealand great Dan Carter has revealed he almost quit rugby union to become an NFL player two years ago.
Carter celebrated his second Rugby World Cup victory with the All Blacks last month, but the fly-half says he was very close to not being a rugby player when he took a sabbatical from the sport, and possibly would have left had he not been recovering from a serious injury at the time.
The 33-year-old, named World Rugby Player of the Year for a third time earlier this month, retired from international rugby after the World Cup final victory over Australia at Twickenham, and opted for moving to France to play for Racing Metro, but he could well have ended up under the tutelage of coach Bill Belichick as a member of the New England Patriots.
In an exclusive with the Daily Telegraph, Carter said: "I was with a friend, Luke Lloyd Davies. He is a sports agent and knew I was a fan of the NFL, so he had arranged for the pair of us to tour the New England Patriots' facilities.
"We walked into reception where they welcomed us by name, as if we were arriving for an appointment. The next thing I knew, a couple of scouts came out, and asked, 'Where are your boots?' They thought I was there to try out for the team!
"I was floored, and a little wistful. Part of me would have liked nothing more than to give it a shot but I had just torn my Achilles tendon, and was months away from being able to kick again.
"If I'm honest, my interest was piqued a little. I don't think any competitive athlete could walk into an environment like that, be received in that way, and not feel a desire to rise to the challenge. Who knows what I might have done had I not sustained that injury at Twickenham?
"I ended up sitting with the head of special teams, who works with kickers and other specialists, and watching tape of elite place-kickers for a couple of hours, while he talked me through their technique. I've worked with some incredible kicking coaches over the years but we had never gone into anything like this level of precision.
"Even though I was contracted to the end of 2015, they seemed willing to wait. He gave me a timeline for receiving the tape, trying out, and team selection. I walked away with my head spinning.
"The next time I bumped into [Patriots owner] Robert Kraft was at the Oscars later that year. He surprised me by not only remembering who I was, but asking whether I'd made that tape for his scouts. I laughed it off, but I was flattered that he was still interested. The idea was still floating in my mind a little."
