KEY POINTS:
Horror of horrors, had history taken a detour Daniel Carter might be running on to Loftus Versfeld wearing a Bulls jersey for Sunday morning's Super 14 rugby semifinal at Pretoria.
Crusaders and All Blacks first five-eighth Carter was spotted in his teens by current Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer, who set out to snare the rising first five-eighth like a hunter tracking a tiger in the South African wilderness.
"I watched Dan Carter play for five minutes as a 19-year-old at the (age group) world championships and immediately I knew he would be a world class first five-eighths, one of the best on the planet," Meyer told a South African rugby website.
"Immediately I asked our business manager Ian Schwartz to go and recruit him for the Bulls. We had a chat and it emerged that the Crusaders had already assured him that when Andrew Mehrtens retired he would be their starting first five-eighths.
"So that opportunity was lost but it doesn't change the fact that I think he is an unbelievable player."
Carter is a revered figure in South Africa, where the rugby community is crying out for its own version.
Media here this week have delved into the topic of who should be the Springboks first five-eighth at the World Cup.
"Let's look around and see if we can't find a South African Dan Carter?" opined one columnist.
Andre Pretorius (Lions), Derick Hougaard (Bulls), Butch James and Francois Steyn (both Sharks) all have their supporters in what has been described as the most divisive issue in the South African game.
One writer raised the spectre of Bulls halfback Fourie Du Preez, almost a certainty to wear the Boks' No 9 jersey, to play one place further out as playmaker at the World Cup.
Not surprisingly, Meyer was in the Hougaard camp, describing the deadly goalkicker's battle with Carter as a crucial one at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday morning (NZ time).
"Carter's a match winner, but so is Derick, and he's proved that throughout his career," Meyer said.
"In South Africa we sometimes don't back our match-winners. We're always looking to Australian and New Zealand players, but we have some amazing individuals here who can change games single-handedly."
- NZPA
