Mixed reviews for ‘majestic’ Carter
Andrew Mehrtens was a better No 10 than Dan Carter, according to British rugby scribe Stephen Jones.
Jones has had another lively debate with his fellow rugby writer at the Sunday Times, Stuart Barnes, this time over who has been rugby’s best first five-eighth.
Just as they couldn’t agree over who was the best test rugby captain – Barnes named Richie McCaw at No 1 while Jones couldn’t even place McCaw in his top 10 – there have been wide discrepancies in their reviews of the game’s best playmakers.
They both had two All Blacks in their lists but they were miles apart.
Jones had Mehrtens at No 7 and Carter at No 10.
Barnes, who played first-five for both England and the British and Irish Lions, placed Carter at No 1 and had Grant Fox at No 10.
Jones had a left-field selection as his top choice for the Sunday Times, going for Wales’ dual international David Watkins who he admitted was his ‘‘first sporting hero’’.
Jones described Watkins as a ‘‘character and entertainer, a man of no particular size but who was successful in the jealous cauldron of rugby league, who beat the All Blacks playing for his only union club, Newport, played gloriously for Wales, captained the Lions in test matches. He had a prime kicking game, was a master tactician, durable among the beasts of forward play. He was a dazzling runner’’.
dominate the semifinal and final of the World Cup. The greatest No 10 of them all.’’
On Fox: ‘‘Lovely man, could not stand his playing style. Boring. Only post retirement did I see how the meticulous detail he put into his preparation – restarts, drop-outs, all the things with which no-one bothered – set the standards for the coming professional age.’’
Here are the words of wisdom from Jones on his All Blacks selections.
On Mehrtens: ‘‘The All Blacks No 10 jersey may not have been the most difficult to wear when you consider the excellence of the players around but Mehrtens was a true pedigree, a vast accumulator of points and almost impossible to put off his game.’’
On Carter: ‘‘He enjoyed a splendid run after injury in the 2011 World Cup and was probably at the second career peak in 2015 when the All Blacks won again. His first peak was when he took majestic charge of a thumping 3-0 series victory over the 2005 Lions.’’