Dan Carter retires from Professional rugby

The best player I've seen and in my opinion the best fly-half to have played the game.

To have torn the Lions apart in 2005 and then still be at a level to win a man of the match award in the 2015 RWC final a decade later sums up the guy pretty well.

Aat their peak the 2011 to 2015 All Blacks were the best team I've seen in the pro era. Aaron Smith, Carter, Julian Savea, Nonu, Conrad Smith, Dagg and Ben Smith with Barrett and SBW as super subs capable of changing a game at will. Fronted by one of the most rounded packs you'll ever find. Some truly brilliant rugby produced by that side.

A remarkable rugby player and ambassador for the game.

Enjoy your retirement DC and thanks for some fantastic memories.

king_carlos wrote:The best player I've seen and in my opinion the best fly-half to have played the game.

To have torn the Lions apart in 2005 and then still be at a level to win a man of the match award in the 2015 RWC final a decade later sums up the guy pretty well.

Aat their peak the 2011 to 2015 All Blacks were the best team I've seen in the pro era. Aaron Smith, Carter, Julian Savea, Nonu, Conrad Smith, Dagg and Ben Smith with Barrett and SBW as super subs capable of changing a game at will. Fronted by one of the most rounded packs you'll ever find. Some truly brilliant rugby produced by that side.

A remarkable rugby player and ambassador for the game.

Enjoy your retirement DC and thanks for some fantastic memories.

Best player ever ???? Hmmmm, I have paid to see better players, but that is just my opinion.

He did rip the Lions a new one in 2005 but that whole tour was the most farcical tour I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. It almost destroyed the Lions brand.

But yes, he was a good player, until injuries disrupted him, and I am sad to see him finish, a true great of the game.

Best player I've seen personally, yeah. He could control tight games, tear open sides with attacking running and distribution, fantastic tactical kicking game and excellent from the tee.

king_carlos wrote:Best player I've seen personally, yeah. He could control tight games, tear open sides with attacking running and distribution, fantastic tactical kicking game and excellent from the tee.

As good as he was, and in his pomp at that time he was the best in the world, but best ever........ Not for me sorry.

LordDowlais wrote:

king_carlos wrote:Best player I've seen personally, yeah. He could control tight games, tear open sides with attacking running and distribution, fantastic tactical kicking game and excellent from the tee.

As good as he was, and in his pomp at that time he was the best in the world, but best ever........ Not for me sorry.

You seem to have presumed that I'm immortal LD. Alas it is not thus. Hence why I've said twice the best I've seen personally.

Best of all time is a phrase I stray from with rugby given the game has changed so much that it's virtually impossible to compare between the amateur and pro eras. Things as simple as poorer quality cameras for the few games that were televised in earlier eras makes it difficult to make accurate judgement on many players who were undoubtedly great in their time.

king_carlos wrote:You seem to have presumed that I'm immortal LD. Alas it is not thus. Hence why I've said twice the best I've seen personally.

Ha ha, please forgive me, I totally misread.

If you do not mind me asking, are you a youngster ? Because for me, I am a man in his forties, and I might be looking through rose tinted glasses, but I remember seeing better, Jiffy was amazing in his pomp, Serge Blanco was awesome. There are others, Jeremy Guscott, Martin Johnson, even players like Simon Geogheon.

I would put all those players mentioned either as good or better. But as I have said, in modern times, and especially circa 2005-2008 he was the best in the world, the only player that comes close in those times for entertainment was Shane Williams.

Superb player and certainly the best 10 of his generation. Thoroughly enjoyed watching him play and wondering what would happen next whenever he got the ball. A true professional and from many accounts an absolutely top bloke. Enjoy your retirement!

LordDowlais wrote:
Best player ever ???? Hmmmm, I have paid to see better players, but that is just my opinion.  

You must have paid to see me in my pomp....cough, cough.  

Carter was a very good 10, but it is a bit hard to judge because he was surrounded by virtually all-world talent across the pitch most of his long career.  He was certainly a great attacking 10, and was good when apprenticing at 12, but other players such as Steven Larkham did almost as much with a weaker supporting cast.  And, like most 10s he was usually protected on defence.  But he was certainly entertaining and one of the best players of his generation.  And as you said, a gentleman off the pitch and a great representative of our sport.

I think those GOAT discussions are so subjective simply because so much of it is what we like to see and how we view the game.  But they are certainly fun to have!

LordDowlais wrote:

king_carlos wrote:You seem to have presumed that I'm immortal LD. Alas it is not thus. Hence why I've said twice the best I've seen personally.

Ha ha, please forgive me, I totally misread.

If you do not mind me asking, are you a youngster ? Because for me, I am a man in his forties, and I might be looking through rose tinted glasses, but I remember seeing better, Jiffy was amazing in his pomp, Serge Blanco was awesome. There are others, Jeremy Guscott, Martin Johnson, even players like Simon Geogheon.

I would put all those players mentioned either as good or better. But as I have said, in modern times, and especially circa 2005-2008 he was the best in the world, the only player that comes close in those times for entertainment was Shane Williams.

I'm in my late twenties LD but being a bit of a sports nause I have watched a lot of rugby from previous generations as well. My granddad recorded a lot of rugby and cricket from the 70/80/90s onto VHS which I used to watch as a kid due to the limited access to either sport on terrestrial TV.

As said I think comparisons across generations are difficult at the best of times but compounded for rugby by being a contact sport that went professional relatively recently.

As a Tigers fan who played lock Johnno was my absolute hero but I do think there's arguments that I've seen better second rows. John Eales being a standout then Viktor Matfield who dragged the lineout into professionalism. I honestly think that fitness permitting Retallick and Itoje could scale similar heights.

Similar with Guscott who was a marvelous player with flaws, I can name a few better centres. Tim Horan remains the best centre I've seen. There's a compilation of his debut on YouTube and it is like watching a professional player in the amateur era with his all round game, athleticism and the way he reads the game.

Williams was brilliant of course but there were wings challenging him in his era. Jason Robinson and Habana were outstanding. Rokocoko, Howlett and Savea at their peaks were sublime. In best wings of all time discussion there is of course Lomu as well.

I've seen a fair bit of Jiffy's early union career courtesy of recordings and he was of course a marvelous player in a different era. Barry John I've seen a bit of from his later Wales career and the '71 Lions. Of course a truly brilliant player but as said comparing across eras is so difficult.

Carter by contrast is the best 10 I've seen a decent amount of, for consistency and longevity the best rugby player I've had the pleasure of watching.

One of the greatest, played in an era when the AB’s were nigh on unbeateble for a decade

A very stunning player. A true great of the game and will often be associated as the stand out 10 for the AB's in a time of their most brutal dominance.

Great memories.