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One more title? Dan Carter's heartwarming New Zealand rugby final return
By Online Editors
There are few trophies Dan Carter has failed to touch in his storied rugby career, but one that has evaded him will be on the line today.
The All Blacks legend will start for Southbridge in the Ellesmere senior competition final against Waihora, contesting the Coleman Shield.
Southbridge will look to successfully defend their title, and will be buoyed by the inclusion of one of rugby's all-time great.
Carter's list of silverware includes two Rugby World Cups and numerous Rugby Championship successes, a handful of Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders and NPC crowns with Canterbury. As well as that he has snagged the World Rugby Player of the Year award a record three times.
He offers Southbridge plenty of big-game experience to bank on. Carter's most famous final performance came at the 2015 World Cup, where he was named man of the match in a 34-17 victory over the Wallabies at Twickenham.
His fitness level, despite trucking along at the seasoned age of 38, should not be too much of a problem. Carter joined the Blues as an injury replacement for Super Rugby Aotearoa, taking part in their weekly trainings despite not taking the field competitively.
It will be his third appearance for the club this year. He turned out during a Blues bye week in Super Rugby Aotearoa in July, and played in last weekend's semifinal win over Prebbleton. He has only played five games for Southbridge, due to his All Blacks commitments throughout his 18-year professional career.
During the season Southbridge and Waihora finished with just one loss, with Southbridge winning their round-robin contest 20-15.
The match will take place in front of limited spectators due to restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. It will also be livestreamed on Canterbury Rugby's Facebook page for the fans who cannot attend.
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Latest Comments
There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.
Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.
Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.
They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.
Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.
Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen
Go to commentsWas it? I just brought it up in some of my posts to rub it in that the AB last year nearly put 100 on a top 6N side lol
I agree to be honest. The biggest key to me that they might be jadded was none of them had mom performances, or even as good as their last three games.
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