Dan Carter 'feels sick' about drink-driving charge

Dan Carter. Photo / Nick Reed

EXCLUSIVE

All Blacks great Dan Carter has opened up about his drink-driving charge earlier this year in Paris, saying he still feels 'sick' about it.

Rugby's all-time points scoring leader and two-time World Cup winner revealed to Radio Sport's Martin Devlin that he's learned a big lesson from the charge for which he lost his license for five months.

Police stopped Carter in Paris in February near the Champs-Elysees. He registered an alcohol limit of .98g/l, well above the authorised limit of .5g/l.

Police said he was also speeding and not carrying his driver's licence.

"I felt like I let a lot of people down and still feel pretty sick about it," Carter said on the Devlin Radio Show.

"Even though I'm back driving now, I did my punishment and lost my license for five months. And it was a really challenging time for me and my family, I felt like I let a lot of people down but people make mistakes in their life. The most important thing is that you learn from it."

"It's not about the punishment that the judge gives you or the fine or anything like that, it's actually the potential consequences that really hit home for you. It actually made me feel sick and it makes me feel sick now, thinking and talking about it. As much as I'd like to say I've moved on from it, it's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. I'm very fortunate that the consequences weren't a lot worse than they could have potentially been. It's something I'll have to live with and something I've learned a very big lesson from and something I'm not proud of," the Racing 92 first-five told the Devlin Radio Show.

Carter is in the final year of a lucrative three-season contract said to be worth $NZ2 million annually. He joined the French club following the 2015 Rugby World Cup where he was named man of the match in the All Blacks' 34-17 win over Australia in the final.
Sponsor Land Rover dropped Carter as a brand ambassador after his arrest.

Following the arrest, Carter made a statement on Facebook saying he made a "massive error of judgment".

"No excuses - I made a massive error of judgment and have let down my club, my fans and most importantly my family," he posted at the time on Facebook.