It was very much Dan Carter’s day on Saturday as the man who had to endure personal torment while his countrymen partied four years ago finally fulfilled his destiny, scoring 19 points in a World Cup final including a brilliant drop goal that halted a brave Australian comeback and the penalty from close to halfway that made the game safe.
However as Carter prepares to move to French club Racing Metro it was interesting, as Beauden Barrett scored the try that let the celebrations get underway, to consider the decision of Steve Hansen, the head coach, to bring both Carter and his under-study and heir apparent as the two players joining him at the pre-World Cup final press conference on Friday.
Preparations for the next four years may already been underway.
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