All Blacks great Dan Carter has shared some surprising details about his recent return to New Zealand soil including a massive pay-cut, an embarrassing quiz fail and Crusaders coach Scott Robertson's reaction to his controversial role with the Blues in Super Rugby.
Carter, 38, bowed out of international rugby after leading the All Blacks to victory at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the three-time World Rugby Player of the Year then spent three seasons in Paris with Racing 92 before joining the Kobelco Steelers in Japan in 2018.
However, the global Covid-19 pandemic put an early end to domestic rugby in Japan in 2020 and Carter decided to return to New Zealand to take up a role with the Blues in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
The new job shocked many on both sides of the fiercely parochial border between the Blues and Crusaders, a team Carter played 13 seasons for and led to three titles, including himself.
"It took a bit of convincing to be honest because I'm a Cantabrian through and through, and a staunch Crusader. But being able to do what I love again, and to be able to go home to my family each night was very attractive to me," Carter explained during a wide-ranging interview for 66 Magazine.