Dan Carter has admitted that he considered quitting rugby union two years ago to become and NFL player.
The recently retired All Black, who won the Rugby World Cup in his final international match last month, told the Daily Telegraph in an exclusive interview that life could have been very different had he chosen to accept an offer from the New England Patriots to play in the NFL.
The 33-year-old, who has joined French side Racing Metro following his retirement from international rugby, was approached the American franchise whilst he was taking a sabbatical from the sport two years ago and admitted that the only thing stopping him from making the switch was the recovery from a serious injury at the time.
“I was with a friend, Luke Lloyd Davies. He is a sports agent and knew I was a fan of the NFL, so he had arranged for the pair of us to tour the New England Patriots’ facilities,” Carter told the Daily Telegraph.
“We walked into reception where they welcomed us by name, as if we were arriving for an appointment. The next thing I knew, a couple of scouts came out, and asked, ‘Where are your boots?’ They thought I was there to try out for the team!
“I was floored, and a little wistful. Part of me would have liked nothing more than to give it a shot but I had just torn my Achilles tendon, and was months away from being able to kick again.
“If I’m honest, my interest was piqued a little. I don’t think any competitive athlete could walk into an environment like that, be received in that way, and not feel a desire to rise to the challenge. Who knows what I might have done had I not sustained that injury at Twickenham?”
Carter’s eventual decision to remain in rugby union has instead reaped rewards as the New Zealander was named World Rugby Player of the Year for the third time in his career whilst Racing Metro secured his signature by making him the highest paid rugby player with a $1.5million a season deal for three years.
But he did commend the Patriots coaching staff after being left incredibly impressed with the detail to attention paid by the coaching staff that left Carter seriously contemplating his future.
“I ended up sitting with the head of special teams, who works with kickers and other specialists, and watching tape of elite place-kickers for a couple of hours, while he talked me through their technique. I’ve worked with some incredible kicking coaches over the years but we had never gone into anything like this level of precision.
“Even though I was contracted to the end of 2015, they seemed willing to wait. He gave me a timeline for receiving the tape, trying out, and team selection. I walked away with my head spinning.
“The next time I bumped into [Patriots owner] Robert Kraft was at the Oscars later that year. He surprised me by not only remembering who I was, but asking whether I’d made that tape for his scouts. I laughed it off, but I was flattered that he was still interested. The idea was still floating in my mind a little.”
