Dan Carter broke a lot of roof slates in his quest to be the greatest outhalf in the world.
It’s fair to say, where Carter is concerned, it was mission firmly accomplished.
The former All Blacks outhalf was in Ireland this week to promote youth citizenship and regale us with tales of World Cup wins and record-breaking feats.
One story that stood out, during his natter with Anton Savage on Today FM, concerned the amount of time and effort Carter put in to hone his craft.
Under the guidance of his father, Carter learned how to goal-kick and kick out of hand with both feet. It took him 13 seasons of Test match rugby before he but that ambidextrous goal-kicking in practice – he slotted over the last conversion of the World Cup final with his weaker right foot. Typical of the man, he nailed it.
Carter explained how that one, perfect moment was first dreamt of in the gardens of his Southland home. He said:
“I broke so many [roof slates] it was ridiculous. Luckily, my dad was a builder so every time I would break the spouting on the roof, he would fix it.
“I kind of took it for granted a little bit and didn’t think too much about it until recently, when he told me how painful it was to fiz. He would get home from work and there was another slate broken.
“I would use the roof as my goal-posts. I would kick the ball over the rook and then walk around to the back garden and kick it in the other direction. The ball would roll down the slates and smash the water spouting.
“When I was about eight years old, my dad built me a set out goal-posts so I would have to break the spouting.”
Carter, who scored 1,598 points in 112 Tests for New Zealand, also gave some fine advice to aspiring players that want to make it as a professional. He commented:
“It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to take that next level.
“Normally at club level, 18 or 19, a lot of your friends are studying, they’re having a good time and enjoying life, partying and things, but taking that level means a lot of sacrifice.
“Once I left school, I worked harder than ever worked before. I feel you get the rewards for all the hard work you put in. It’s never easy, otherwise there would be a lot more people doing it.”
Sage words from one of rugby’s greatest ever players.
