Editorial: Brilliant, Dan Carter's injured

Dan Carter's ankle surgery was a success. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

An injury to star first five-eighth Dan Carter is more evidence that things are coming together almost perfectly for the All Blacks just over a year out from the rugby World Cup.

Normally, if either Carter or the side's other superstar, captain and loose forward Richie McCaw, goes down injured, the nation collectively holds its breath.

But Carter's ankle surgery, which will keep him out of the game for eight weeks, will force the national selectors to try something different in the most key position on the field, one where New Zealand has a glaring lack of depth.

For the Bledisloe Cup game against Australia next month, in will step, almost certainly, Manawatu's Aaron Cruden. His test career so far has hardly bothered the statisticians - it involves roughly 40 minutes off the bench in five tests.

Is he the man to kick us to glory next year in the last minute of the final? How would coach Graham Henry know without Carter's timely break from the sport.

Trialling Cruden is one of the last pieces of the puzzle for the All Black faithful.

Without wanting to jinx our bid for the William Webb Ellis trophy (again), things could hardly be looking any better.

We have swept both the Tri-Nations and the Bledisloe Cup with four matches to go in both competitions; tweaks to the sport's rules have worked in our favour and allowed Henry to implement an attractive brand of rugby that is winning back the spectators; and the core of the Kiwi team will be at its physical peak next year.

We don't have many veterans struggling to hang on. With key men Andrew Hore, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Ali Williams and Richard Kahui still to come back into the mix, the competition for places next year will be explosive.

As well, the Springboks have a coach who can't; the Aussies are our bunnies - we're heading for 10 straight victories there. And don't forget fate. The year 2011 will be the first time the country has hosted the event since the inaugural competition in 1987, which we won.

The redemption of Graham Henry could well be complete in 53 weeks. If it doesn't happen this time, it may well never happen.