All Blacks get Carter to settle Bledisloe nerves

The All Blacks have drafted in legendary flyhalf Dan Carter to calm any nerves among the faltering world champions ahead of this weekend’s Bledisloe Cup decider against Australia.

A shock 47-26 loss to the Wallabies has rattled the All Blacks, calling into question their experimental strategy of fielding two playmakers in Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga.

Assistant coach Ian Foster said Carter joined the New Zealanders at training in Auckland on Tuesday to offer advice to Barrett and Mo’unga.

The 37-year-old, who retired from internationals in 2015, has a wealth of experience after a stellar 112-Test career that included winning two World Cups and three world rugby player of the year awards.

“I’m actually keen to get him in to chat to our playmakers,” Foster told allbacks.com. “He’s got a lot of World Cup experience and I just wanted to really have him around, again to talk to the likes of Beaudy and Richie about what it’s like driving a team through a World Cup campaign where expectations are high.

“Who better to tell that story than him.”

Foster has talked up the need for discipline if New Zealand are to retain the Bledisloe Cup for a 17th year and defeat Australia again at an Eden Park venue where the Wallabies have not won since 1986.

Scott Barrett’s red card for a shoulder charge cost the All Blacks any chance of victory in Perth and saw the lock suspended for three weeks. Despite that setback, former All Black Ian Jones called for fire and brimstone from the men in black in Auckland, saying they had to prove a point by muscling up to the Wallabies.

“They’ve got to physically go straight and knock these guys around and get into that zone,” Jones told Radio Sport.

112 is the number of Test matches Dan Carter played for the All Blacks