Rugby: Relaxed Carter raring to rejoin Crusaders on field

Daniel Carter. Photo / Getty Images

Daniel Carter aims to return to the Super 15 in the Crusaders' first match at the new Christchurch Stadium against the Cheetahs on March 24.

Back in training after a two-month holiday in South America and the United States, Carter said he had recovered from the groin injury that put him out of the Rugby World Cup and hopes to play in round five.

A relaxed Carter said the first match at the new stadium after more than a year on the road for the Crusaders would be really exciting for the players and for coach Todd Blackadder. "It'll be huge, but obviously I've got a lot of work to do before then.

"It's going to be a very important one for Christchurch and I'd love to be out and part of that game, so I'm working extremely hard to try and get that.

"But obviously it's up to Toddy, and I can do whatever I can in the next few weeks to be playing."

A "pretty good" part of travelling in South America had been he was anonymous, Carter said. "Over there they don't follow rugby too much."

Joking that he skipped any altitude training at Cuzco and Machu Picchu, Carter, who will be 30 on Monday, said he'd not been able to do a lot of rugby training while he was away but had kept his fitness up.

He would hopefully add the final touches over the next few weeks and was working closely with the physio to make sure everything was 100 per cent.

"I'm refreshed now, the body feels good, the groin's good, and the excitement levels are right up there," he said.

Carter damaged his groin during goalkicking practice before the Canada pool game in the World Cup. Significantly, he said he hadn't done any kicking yet, but that would be "the real progression over the next couple of weeks".

It had been pretty tough the past two weeks watching the Crusaders play, so he was excited to be back, he said.

It had been good to train in different parts of the world, but nothing beat being back in the Crusaders environment.

Carter is only five matches short of a century of Super rugby appearances for the Crusaders. He made his debut against the Hurricanes in 2003 and is Super Rugby's top scorer with 1272 points.

Tyler Bleyendaal, 21, who impressed against the Blues in round one, is the current holder of the Crusaders' No 10 jersey. Christchurch Star