Carter out for the rest of the tournament?

And McCaw for at least one match (luckily only against Canada).

Not a fatal blow. But it might smart a bit. I still fancy the ABs though - even given their poor knock-out record.

p.s. Is the only KO rugby played by the SH countries at 1st class side and International level in the RWC?

No they knock each other out in the Super 15 regularly. It's a tough, uncompromising, no holds-barred competition, didn't you know?

Bad news for New Zealand.

Will Mcaw be fully fit to finish the tournament after the Canada game? I expect the Abs to win, but if Slade as a bad day with the boot, then anything can happen.

Is it officially confirmed now or still a rumour?

I'm sad if it is true, it's been such a good World Cup- I think it's been a great group stage so far, shaping up to be a great knockout stage and I want to see the great players! As rugby fans, it'll be a loss for all of us.

Notch wrote:Is it officially confirmed now or still a rumour?

I'm sad if it is true, it's been such a good World Cup- I think it's been a great group stage so far, shaping up to be a great knockout stage and I want to see the great players! As rugby fans, it'll be a loss for all of us.

To be honest I don't know. But it is a strong rumour. And there is a gentler rumour that McCaw is suffering an injury that is being understated.

Gutted, I hope he can make it back for the final,

such a great player, he deserves a WC medal.

If Wales dont win, I hope NZ manage it.

If he is then its the World Cups loss as a whole not just New Zealands.

Admittedly if Wales got to the final then I would obviously be happy not to see Carter in the 10 shirt but as a neutral you always want to see the best players playing and Carter is the best 10 by some lenghty margin.

All unconfirmed at the moment, rumours are swirling around. If anything, AB's will give him until the Friday of the SF to come good - if we should make it that far.

Am I nervous? A little bit. However I will back Slade to do the business, and Weepu is no slouch at 10 either

Or we can bring in Nick Evans.

Ree Carters injury, can you some help me out here?

In 2007 Carter got injured, did he get injured before the France game or during the France game. And is this some kind of omen for Carter with regards to playing in Rugby World Cups.

In all honesty if any one deserves a Rugby World Cup winners medal he does.
But then again you have to be in it to win it.

Carter had a niggly calf but he aggravated it during the QF. Evans lasted 5 minutes before being crocked and probably neither would have been fit for the semi.

Doesnt look good for carter.
Henry will have figured the scenario in.
At such short notice weepu will have to play 10 in any critical match so i hope he slade and dagg are all doing goalkicking practice.
Weepu at 10 is the only smart option. Slade as a stater puts too much pressure on himself and good starts are critical.
Weepu has the best ability to adapt and although not a carter he has enough tactical nouse to stamp his own authority on the position.
Slade should play today to get valuable gametime unless gh thinks he needs to blood the new 9/ 10 combination.
I think gh has already ruled out slade as a start 10 option. Way too risky.
No point dwelling on carter. Get him right or not but the rest have to get on and do their bit.
Weve plenty other players out there capable enough.

Taylorman wrote:Doesnt look good for carter.
Henry will have figured the scenario in.
At such short notice weepu will have to play 10 in any critical match so i hope he slade and dagg are all doing goalkicking practice.
Weepu at 10 is the only smart option. Slade as a stater puts too much pressure on himself and good starts are critical.
Weepu has the best ability to adapt and although not a carter he has enough tactical nouse to stamp his own authority on the position.
Slade should play today to get valuable gametime unless gh thinks he needs to blood the new 9/ 10 combination.
I think gh has already ruled out slade as a start 10 option. Way too risky.
No point dwelling on carter. Get him right or not but the rest have to get on and do their bit.
Weve plenty other players out there capable enough.

What's the news on McCaw? Will he get through the tourney?

Rercurring foot injury it appears. Reality is both arent critical for the next two matches other than getting gametime so the fixit men will be doing overtime.
Its better we go into matches having planned for the injuries and seeing carter pull up other than a miracle he'll not be at his best next 3-4 weeks regardless.
I think alans right here. Just get on with it.
Injuries happen and have for most teams- oz are worse than us but out worst case scenario might be a reality now.
But it would be worse to happen during a match and the team knows it needs to adapt beforehand. Thats a good thing at least.

All speculation ,no facts Carter gone,Crudon in,Thomson doubtful.Matt Todd in.
This fixation with Nick Evans 4 years out of the loop no chance.
Injuries are part of the game,better knowing he`s out adjust the game plan move on .
The worst thing they could do is go into a SF with the Boks for example with either Mccaw or Carter carrying injuries and breaking down like 2007.
IF there crook get the substitutes in now,Dagg is an excellent kiicker at goal.
If DC can play but not kick goals no problem ,adjust the game plan you have the forwards.
Go the classic way defence,take points as they come you don`t need a razzle dazzle 10 to win matche s Matt Berquist proved that for the Crusaders.
Don`t lets have the it`s not the All Black way bit,they have one of the most talented squads in the RWC.
Teams with far less have caused,or nearly caused surprises,RWCs are onegame at a time.
Take nothing for granted just get stuck in and win thats what champions do.

Confirmed. Carter's gone for the tournament.

****. NZ's chances just halved.

Oh man.

disneychilly wrote:Confirmed. Carter's gone for the tournament.

****. NZ's chances just halved.

I don't think halved is totally true, Who will they call up? Cruden?

Is his back up that poor that it will turn the game so much.

It could turn it enough in a tight one-that's all you need. Cruden's in backing Slade up. Carter's the most complete 10 in the world easily and the gap between him and the other 10s at the cup is pretty big let alone between him and the next best Kiwi.

Weepu's importance just grew tenfold. Expect him to start with kicking duties.

Yep. Crudens in.
To be honest im not as concerned as most.
It is a bit insulting to the rest of the team to react like this.
We have a very capable team and carters just one of the better spokes in the wheel.
If theres one thing the abs have learned is World cups are about resolve and survival.
This will just serve to reinforce the fact.

Carter himself must be gutted. Thats the real tragedy here.

Yeah I'm more gutted for the man himself. Injury has screwed him in 07 and 11 now. Devastated he can't show the world what he's made of in the biggest stage. It was made for him.

Taylor,

Thats what I mean and think, the Blacks have been best in the world for sometime and have players all over park who can win the game.

Ok where they now play the game on the park will depend lot on how the 10 kicks but the forwards still have to do their job firt foremost etc.

You can't blame the team for reacting the way they did, carter is a big talisman for them and they all respect his abilities and leadership.

No the team reaction biltong. All this talk about the odds swinging strongly one way or the other. We dont build our gameplan around any one player and if anything carter fits nicely into the team plan. Just a bit better than others thats all.
Still dont see slade starting. Cruden should be promoted. Slade has clear yips and cruden i believe has got over his.
Played well recently also albeit ar lower levels.

disneychilly wrote:Yeah I'm more gutted for the man himself. Injury has screwed him in 07 and 11 now. Devastated he can't show the world what he's made of in the biggest stage. It was made for him.

I can only agree wholeheartedly

I for one don't want to see England win the RWC as they are nowhere good enough - but the rest of the best are beginning to go down like flies, it's beginning to look like a NH team are looking better to take up the challenge.

In 1954 Hungary the team that created the new football failed to win their WC. And that still is a sad fact of sporting history to me - like Holland in 1974.

As a personal tragedy the magnitude cannot be understated for Dan Carter. Nobody deserves this.

As a team problem it is definitely one that can be overcome. I haven't checked the bookies but surely they're still odds on?

If they lose McCaw as well, it would be the worst scenario possible.

Imagine any country losing their best players and talismen - dreadful.

England must be kicking themselves that they came first in their pool now. They could have gone down the easier route to the final after all.

Pot Hale wrote:England must be kicking themselves that they came first in their pool now. They could have gone down the easier route to the final after all.

An All black team without Carter will still be expected to smack the daylights out of every other team in world rugby .And yes they are that good .

I'm not sure, if the blacks are that good. I think all things being equal, we would probably beat anybody at full strength. However, I think there are 3 or 4 teams that can expose any weakness. Injuries are starting to have an impact. We probably face am injury depleted Argintinian side in the 1/4's, and who knows what state the boks or Wallabies will be in come semi final time. I'd still back the AB's against Ireland or Wales if its the final.

It's a good draw for England. The face a French side in disarray, and then then Ireland or Wales (Although Ireland would back themselves). I wouldn't be surprised if it's a repeat of the 07 final.

The NZ vs SA/Aus 1/4 will be the biggest game of Slade's career.

Too early to say. Im just going to enjoy whats ahead. Others have injuries and may have more as well.
SA have lost steyn2 and next weeks oz Sa match is going to be a ripper.
Abs will go through the process of replacing carter and the players will have extra motivation. To play for their mate.
With canada then argie, a 3N match then an AI match doesnt look too daunting a run home at all. Especially with eden park and now carter in the stands
To have doom and gloom before a match sure beats having it during one.

Losing DC is massive loss(and an infinite times that for him personally) but I don't think by any stretch our world cup campaign is over. Dan Carter is the best 1st 5/8 in the world by a long way. We loose him and we have a first 5 at normal international level. That's not actually a disadvantage.

The Springboks were always going to be our biggest threat (I believe they beat Aussie next week) but now they have too have suffered a big lose with the human rocket launcher heading home. One of the biggest concerns here has been the Springbok pack being able to milk penalties and Francios Steyn being capable of putting them over from 60-65m.

The amazing thing is how quick the mood has changed, there was instant shock and horror when the breaking news came out this morning. A few hours later and the rallying call is starting to go out. Colin Slade is no Dan Carter (yet) but neither is any other player in the world. Typically Slade has been under pressure and doubted by being compared to Carter. Now that comparison is gone has Carter is no longer a factor. Nonu has grown so much that having Carter is no longer critical and ABs now with their back to the wall might have gained more than the direct effects of losing Carter.

We know Slade has the ability and while the pressure has picked up the support has just gone threw the roof. The easiest way I can describe it is he has gone from getting negative to positive pressure. The settlement very quickly went from oh &#^$ to basically to Slade “Its your time now”

You´ve got to feel for DC. That´s two WCs now he´s been injured. No one deserves such bad luck.

As for the ABs, my only consolation is the injury didn´t occur midway through a game. Whoever replaces DC - I think Henry will hedge his bets again with Argentina and start with Slade and then move Weepu there - is now at least mentally prepared for the challenge as are the team. The forwards are going to have lift their performance to ensure front foot ball. The backs are going to have to help Slade or Weepu out.

Gutting news but not insurmountable. There are other injury concerns as well but for me this just adds to the siege mentality. Dig deep and get the job done. kia kaha

Carter is a massive loss to this AB side largely because his back ups are pretty flakey. It is the one spot where the ABs have no depth. They will be more susceptible to being pressured into errors (especially Slade) which is something they are not used to. Morale will be impacted a bit too I think - it is inevitable. Still the favourites but perhaps the door has swung a few inches wider for SA or W - don't write them off. QF will be fascinating with W rank outsiders - not sure why I guess memories are short.

Rob B fly half is the place where All Blacks have no depth,all pretty flakey?
Last night before Weepu came on ,after the half charged kick Slade had a very solid game and ran the team well.
How many fly halves out there are better than Carter,Cooper who is genuis one minute.Then the biggest clown in the circus,the next.In NZ no FH is another Carter,but there arn`t any in the rest of the world either.
The All Blacks now have 3,counting Weepu solid ones,no worse than most other the other sides.All 3 better than Morgan Parra,lest you forget last 3N in2010.Those 3 replaced DC and won the match,Slades problem is lack of game time hardly his fault.
Wallabies outsiders,short memories?the Boks would have won in Australia,taking the right options.
The Wallabies maybe bookies outsiders because of the injury problems,and only one convincing 80 minute performance.
NO All Black coach underestimates ANYONE,today match was won by halftime.
Conditions appalling Cowan was dreadful,Canada was willing bench was emptyied .
Then it was just a romp,unstructured,chuck the ball around and white line fever.
You don`t really expect them to play like that in the knockouts,and starting passing movementsfrom there own 22 is a No No come knockout time.

Not basing it on the Canada game given the 2nd tier opposition where anyone can look comfortable at 10- just on what I had seen of him in 3N. Under pressure he seems prone to mistakes like miss kicks and booting the ball out on the full. Comes down to whether a good backrow can get to him.

Not interested in the rubbish against Aust (Boks would have won in Aust blah blah blah blah)- can't see the relevance in making a comment about Slade.

No it comes down to the team playing with him and around him,IF Slade starts.
Under pressure in the 3Ns he was playing for his place,NOW Henry has to say GO for it or find a substitute for him.
All teams have weaknesses,all players can have off games unless he gets regular game time he won`t iimprove.
Yes ALL back rows target fly halves,its there job but it cuts both ways,they may be all over your fly half too.
The All Blacks without Carter are less of a team,it is up to the rest of the world to prove it.
I have always thought a Aus v Bok final was the most likely event sadly that
won`t happen now.

All I can say is that it's such a relief that Carter was rested in the 3N, the team was heavily rotated to the point that we lost the title, so that none of this would happen in the world cup.