Dan Carter: 'The Roger Federer of rugby'   30 Oct 2015

Wallabies assistant coach Stephen Larkham, not a bad first five himself, said so far as he was concerned Carter was No.1.

In the Independent, Chris Hewett pointed out that Carter's 1579 points in 111 Tests was 300 more than England's Jonny Wilkinson, who previously held the world record for points. And of the 25 heaviest scorers in Test history, Carter has the highest average yield of points per game.

"Yet there is more to it than that. Far more. Wilkinson scored just seven tries.

In his long career with England and the Lions. Neil Jenkins of Wales was a little more prolific, claiming 11 touchdowns, while Ronan O'Gara of Ireland was positively electrifying by Jonny-boy standards, crossing the opposition whitewash on no fewer than 16 occasions. Carter? His try tally stands at 29. When it comes to comparisons, there isn't a sensible one to be made," Hewett said.

Former Scotland and Lions five-eighths Gregor Townsend, also in The Independent, said he saw Carter as 'the Roger Federer of rugby'.

"He plays the game with the same style, with a special kind of grace, and to my eye he is completely unflappable. But at the same time, we have to acknowledge all the skill and preparation and hard work that underpins it.

"I wrote in a book published a few years ago that he reminded me of a swan: completely at ease on the surface but paddling away like mad under the water," Townsend said.

The Scotsman said Carter, along with Wilkinson and Larkham had helped push first five-eighths play beyond its acknowledged boundaries.

"You can easily argue that Wilkinson's tackling was stronger than that of any outside-half we've ever seen, and that his kicking was just as accomplished.

"You can make out a case for Larkham as the finest attacking runner of the three. But in all-round terms, Carter has performed, and continues to perform, at an astonishing level.

"I don't think we'll see a No.10 of such intelligence, one equipped with such an array of skills, for a very long time," Townsend said.

Cater was able to see a wider picture developing during a game and much of the early part of matches was about doing his routine work. But he had an understanding of when to test the defence with an inside ball or half-break.

"That comes from a combination of instinct, composure and experience. People talk about the '10,000-hour rule' of greatness. Carter must have 20,000 hours in the bank by now.

"And when I look at his kicking game, it's all about hurting the opposition. There's so much thought behind it, together with a pretty devastating degree of accuracy. His kicks either find grass, or they're contestable in the air: I heard somewhere that in the whole of 2014, his 'contestable kick' success rate was 100 percent. That's ridiculous," Townsend said.

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