After a five year absence, the great Dan Carter will once again grace a rugby field in New Zealand.
Carter, a two-time Rugby World Cup winner and three-time Super Rugby victor with the Crusaders, announced his shock Super Rugby comeback with the Blues on Thursday at the age of 38, saying he realised during the coronavirus lockdown how much he missed the game.
Taking to social media to inform his close on one million Instagram followers of his decision, Carter spoke of being "grateful" to be able to share his "experience" and "rugby knowledge" with the younger generation of Blues players.
Carter wrote: "Back doing what I love after realising how much I missed rugby over these last few Months. When Leon called me with an opportunity to join the Blues squad as a replacement player it was a tough decision but I’m feeling very grateful to be able to train and potentially play in the same city my family and I are currently living. Also it’s a nice opportunity to give back to NZ rugby by sharing my experience and rugby knowledge to the next generation of young players in the squad. Thanks for your support."
While it remains to be seen how much game time Carter is afforded in the Blues starting XV for the new-look New Zealand Aotearoa tournament starting on Saturday, 13 June, his presence alone is likely to be invaluable to a Blues side that lay second in the New Zealand Conference and fourth in the Overall standings when Super Rugby was halted in mid-March due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Carter played 141 Super Rugby matches for the Crusaders between 2003-2015, scoring a tournament record 1 708 points.
In addition, Carter played 112 Tests for the All Blacks, scoring a record 1 598 points during his international career which concluded after the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. He was also voted World Rugby's World player of the Year in 2005, 2012 and 2015.
It's great to have you back Dan!