Carter still feels 'pretty sick' about drink-driving incident

Racing 92 fly-half and All Blacks icon Dan Carter still feels "pretty sick" about being caught driving under the influence of alcohol last February.

Carter issued an apology after reports emerged he had been caught drink-driving in France and was dropped by his sponsor Land Rover as a result.

The 35-year-old had his licence revoked for five months and regrets an incident he believes could have had far more severe consequences.

"You do make mistakes and I made a pretty big one with that," he told New Zealand's Radio Sport. "I felt like I let a lot of people down and still feel pretty sick about it.

"Even though I'm back driving now, I did my punishment and lost my licence for five months. And it was a really challenging time for me and my family, I felt like I let a lot of people down but people make mistakes in their life. The most important thing is that you learn from it.

"It's not about the punishment that the judge gives you or the fine or anything like that, it's actually the potential consequences that really hit home for you. It actually made me feel sick and it still makes me feel sick now, thinking and talking about it.

"As much as I'd like to say I've moved on from it, it's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. I'm very fortunate that the consequences weren't a lot worse than they could have potentially been."

Carter's future at Racing is up in the air with the impending arrival of South Africa fly-half Pat Lambie, and the former All Black hinted a return to New Zealand is on the cards.

"I'm kind of going through those thoughts at the moment, whether I stay, whether I look at other opportunities," he said.

"New Zealand is where the family is and family is a big part of my life."