Rugby Championship
Carter tackles twitter-verse
2012-08-29 09:01
Wellington - New Zealand flyhalf Daniel Carter has not given much thought to the next Rugby World Cup but is "getting to old" to try to cap his career with an Olympic gold medal a year later at the Rio Games in 2016, he told Twitter followers on Wednesday.
Carter, who helped the All Blacks retain the Bledisloe Cup with a 22-0 victory over Australia at Eden Park last weekend, only joined the microblogging website on Tuesday.
By Wednesday, the test rugby world record points scorer had more than 22 000 followers, which prompted him to hold an hour-long Q&A session.
"Looks like we might have a world first @twitter press conference haha. I'm free 14:30-15:30 today(Wednesday), tag your questions with #DCPC," Carter wrote on his feed earlier on Wednesday.
Thousands of tweets flooded in during the session, most asking him rugby-related questions though others used the opportunity to inquire about his favourite food (sushi) and country to visit (Italy).
Carter, however, also stuck to the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) party line during the session, telling followers he preferred sandwich spread Marmite to its major competitor and that he liked the strip of any team sponsored by Adidas.
The yeast spread is made by food manufacturer Sanitarium, a sponsor of the All Blacks, while Adidas have had a long-term jersey and apparel contract with the NZRU.
Carter also listed current New Zealand captain Richie McCaw as his favourite team player because "he always puts his body on the line", while former England international Jonny Wilkinson was his toughest opponent "when he was in his prime".
Front row forwards were also the messiest players to room with, he enjoyed playing golf but was a "hacker" and "lollies" (sweets) were his favourite thing to eat after a game.
Carter also took some of the tongue-in-cheek questions submitted by one reader in the manner they were intended when she asked: "For the impending zombie apocalypse, what will be your weapon of choice and why?"
"Anything I can get my hands on," Carter replied.