Wynne Gray: Carter not a player to shrink from record books

A mesmerised Dan Carter was warned by the referee to get on with his kick on his test debut. Photo / Getty Images

Daniel Carter has shrunk. While his ability has expanded as he sits one kick adrift of breaking Jonny Wilkinson's record test points haul, his stature has diminished.

Somehow in the eight years since he first pulled on the All Black jersey, Carter has shrunk. In the Rugby Almanack, Carter was listed as 1.80m for his 2003 debut while on tour this year, according to the All Blacks' guide, he is 1.78m.

It's understandable given the weight of expectation on Carter's shoulders since he first slipped into action as the 1034th All Black against Wales in Hamilton.

The week before, Carter had stayed on the bench on a ghastly night in Wellington as England held on for a 15-13 victory. But with the arrival of Wales, Carter was promoted to the starting lineup, at second five eighths, pushing Tana Umaga out to centre.

The unusual moments did not end there for Carter. He had to wait 20 minutes for his first shot at goal, a sideline conversion, and was warned by referee Alan Lewis to get on with the kick as he seemed to go into a trance before the first of his 1176 test points.

My notes of that night suggest Carter was then wearing All Black jersey No 26, rather than his starting No 12 uniform. Reasons for that remain fuzzy, unlike the rest of Carter's career.

Five eighths like Mac Herewini, Earle Kirton, Bob Burgess, Nicky Allen, Grant Fox, Frano Botica, Andrew Mehrtens and Carlos Spencer have excited my inspection of their work with the All Blacks. But none can claim to have scaled the heights and standards now being set by Carter.

Interview him now and he remains the same calm, pleasant, attentive conversationalist he was when he was first promoted to the All Blacks. Answers to inquiries, especially in a group situation, come steadily but seem to lack a little verve.

Little appears to faze Carter and you can find yourself wondering if he has a pulse. There are many who believe it beats at an ultra-low rate, hence his value as the ice-cold brain in the blast-furnace heat of international rugby.

Man for a crisis, man for the moment, man for the All Blacks? You betcha. Without him, the All Blacks would be staring at a much reduced winning record than the near-86 per cent success rate they have accrued under Graham Henry.

Carter has only felt defeat nine times in his 78-test career. He will not reach double-figures this weekend in Cardiff and this time next year, New Zealand will hope he is still holding that single-digit statistic.