This wasn’t the article I had envisaged when I pitched a Dan Carter-at-the-end-of-his-stint-in-France interview to ESPN. But, through several revisions, and two more interviews, with Ronan O Gara and Yannick Nyanga, it became via a 3,500-word monster this 1,000-word tribute to Carter’s legacy in France.
There is a pressure, spoken and unspoken, for All Blacks to “leave the shirt in a better place”. It is a maxim that compels New Zealand’s rugby players towards continual improvement of themselves and others, be that at international or club level. And no All Black has stood up to this challenge more than Dan Carter, who is about to take that approach with him to Japan and the final stage of his playing career with Kobe Steelers.
James Harrington: Freelance sports journalist 