How Dan Carter came close to an NFL career

NZ Herald

15 Nov, 2015 06:50 PM3 mins to read

Daniel Carter has revealed how the New England Patriots were keen to see him switch to NFL. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Dan Carter thought he was touring the New England Patriots' facilities. Instead, he ended up contemplating an NFL career as a kicker.

The legendary All Black No. 10 has revealed it was probably only injury that prevented him from making a shock exit from rugby to try gridiron.

As it turned out, he guided New Zealand to the 2015 Rugby World Cup triumph but the way Carter puts it, his participation was a close-run thing.

In an extract from Dan Carter: The Autobiography, Carter said friend and sports agent Luke Lloyd Davies knew he was an NFL fan and arranged the Patriots tour two years ago.

"We walked into reception where they welcomed us by name, as if we were arriving for an appointment. The next thing I knew, a couple of scouts came out, and asked, 'Where are your boots?' They thought I was there to try out for the team!

"I was floored, and a little wistful. Part of me would have liked nothing more than to give it a shot, but I had just torn my achilles tendon, and was months away from being able to kick again.

"I don't think any competitive athlete could walk into an environment like that, be received in that way, and not feel a desire to rise to the challenge. Who knows what I might have done had I not sustained that injury at Twickenham?

"I ended up sitting with the head of special teams, who works with kickers and other specialists, and watching tape of elite place-kickers for a couple of hours, while he talked me through their technique. I've worked with some incredible kicking coaches over the years but we had never gone into anything like this level of precision.

"Even though I was contracted to the end of 2015, they seemed willing to wait. He gave me a timeline for receiving the tape, trying out, and team selection. I walked away with my head spinning.

"The next time I bumped into [Patriots owner] Robert Kraft was at the Oscars later that year. He surprised me by not only remembering who I was, but asking whether I'd made that tape for his scouts. I laughed it off, but I was flattered...the idea was still floating in my mind a little."

Carter is heading to French club Racing Metro for a post-All Blacks rugby stint.

Australian league star Jarryd Hayne made the San Francisco NFL squad this year in a blaze of publicity but was recently cut and has ended up in their practice squad. Hayne, who had a promising pre-season but made errors in competition games, has been used as a punt returner and running back.

His foray into the NFL has seen a number of other union and league stars touted as NFL prospects but Hayne's problems have highlighted that a lack of instinct for the game is a big hurdle to overcome.

That would be far less of a problem for a goalkicker, although the smaller Gridiron ball is very different from union and league ones.