Carter feels All Blacks players really stood up for coach Foster
IAN Foster is a “brilliant” coach, and the All Blacks are showing heart and character to achieve the necessary consistency ahead of next year’s Rugby W orld Cup.
That was the view of legendary flyhalf Dan Carter, who arrived in Cape Town yesterday on whirlwind visit to Mzansi.
Carter will attend the Rugby World Cup Sevens this weekend, but also conduct coaching clinics in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Yesterday, though – not long after landing in the Mother City – the 40-yearold provided some inspiration for a group of schoolchildren who form part of the MOT South Africa non-governmental organisation (NGO), who try to strengthen pupils with life skills and courage “to become active citizens and leaders that make conscious choices and develop to their full potential”.
About 30 pupils from Lotus High in Lotus River, Fairmount Secondary in Grassy Park, Zeekoevlei Secondary in Lotus River and Reddam House in Constantia were in attendance at the College of Cape Town Crawford campus to hear Carter’s words of wisdom.
He relayed a story about his adductor injury during the 2011 Rugby World Cup in France, where his dream of captaining his country for the first time was dashed when he got hurt in the captain’s run practice the day before a game.
“In my last shot at goal, I fell to the ground and I started screaming. I knew it was a serious injury, and I had torn my adductor muscles off the bone. I had to go to hospital and have the scans, and I asked the doctor, ‘Is that my World Cup over?’ and she said, ‘Yes,” Carter said.
“I went straight to my hotel room and I started crying … It was a really challenging moment, and that was going to be my last World Cup before I went to play overseas. But after a day or so, I felt that the team still needs me. So, I could’ve stayed in my room and kept crying, or helped my team. The guy who replaced me got injured, and then
the next guy in my position got injured.
“So, we were down to the third or fourth string, and I helped the team and changed my mindset as well. I set myself new goals, to give myself one more crack at the World Cup, and I did that.
“So, in terms of resilience, you will have setbacks and disappointments, and you need to grieve and express yourself – that’s actually normal.
“But then after 24 hours, you need to flick the switch. I reset and set new goals, and needed to change to a positive mindset.
“Fast-forward four years, and I am 33 years old and had one of the best World Cups of my career.
“That shows you the power of dealing with setbacks and showing resilience. It’s part of life – life is not supposed to be perfect.”
The All Blacks have endured some bad days this year, losing to Ireland, South Africa and Argentina, but coach
Ian Foster held onto his job by the skin of his teeth after multiple reviews by the New Zealand Rugby Union.
Carter’s old Crusaders teammate, Scott “Razor” Robertson, was widely touted as the man to replace Foster, but after that didn’t happen, the All Blacks are trying to get back into shape ahead of next year’s World Cup in France.
“Razor has been a hugely successful coach at the Crusaders. There have been a few reviews and everyone’s sort of got their mixed views.
“Ian Foster is a fantastic coach, and I was lucky enough to be coached by him at the end of my career – and he’s brilliant,” said Carter, who scored 1 598 points in 112 Tests.
“One thing that sort of jumped out for me – because it’s really hard for me to comment from the outside, because I am not in the team environment – but the players really stood up for Fozzie. They believe he is the right guy.”