Dan Carter says Dave Rennie’s All Blacks should relish the tough road ahead this season.
The All Blacks face a brutal international schedule that includes the highly-anticipated Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the back-to-back world champions.
“We’ve got a lot of potential, and we’re going to be challenged and tested more this year than potentially in the past with the schedule that’s ahead of them, and that’s exciting, that’s what you want,” Carter said on the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin,
“That’s what as an international rugby player and as an All Black you want – the toughest and hardest challenges. You don’t want an easy road, and we definitely don’t have that this year with the Nations Championship and the Test matches that we have and then obviously with Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry as well, which is going to be epic.”
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The Springboks sit atop World Rugby’s rankings, with the All Blacks in second place, something Carter admits should fuel the latter’s hunger.
“We’re still ranked second in the world? I’m not sure. It’s not too bad,” he said. “I love the fact that if we’re not No 1, then we’re asking questions and challenging, because we never want to accept that we shouldn’t be No 1.”
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Carter believes the All Blacks have the talent to reclaim top spot, but says consistency will be key under the current coaching group.
“So, it’s a really exciting time. New coaching groups and some new ideas, you know, really try and keep connecting as a group and play at a level that we know we’re capable of, and we’ve shown in the last couple of years, but just trying to have that consistency to be able to sort of back it up week in, week out.”
Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
