All Black legend Carter could play for Hong Kong
In Hong Kong ahead of the Natixis Cup match on Saturday against the Sharks, Carter entertained the idea of being a marquee player for the proposed China-based side. If and when the competition is launched, Andrew Forrest's Indo-Pacific competition could feature teams from Hong Kong, Singapore, Fiji, and Japan.
"Obviously when ideas like that are put out you kind of wait for them to be set in stone and become official before you start looking at opportunities like that. But if it was to happen, you’d be silly not to have a look at it."
"I'm getting a bit old now, it might be as a coach," he said as his Racing 92 side trained on Wednesday. "To be honest, I haven't even thought about it.
Carter is enjoying his time back in Hong Kong, where Racing 92 will compete over the weekend.
"It's good to be back in Hong Kong, I've been here a few times playing and obviously for the Hong Kong Sevens so I got to experience that," Carter said.
"It's a great place, obviously a big expat community with a lot of rugby followers and lovers. It's an amazing sport, rugby, and it's always good when you’re able to try to help grow the sport and maybe influence and inspire some young people."
Carter will move to Japan at the end of the season with the Kobe Steelers in the Japan Top League.
"Leading into the next World Cup and the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, I couldn't think of a better place to be living and playing rugby than Japan over the next couple of years," he said.
"That was a bit of a part of my decision to play there, as well as being a lot closer to home, and the season structure means I get a lot of free time to spend back in New Zealand with family."
Meanwhile, speaking to AFP, 35-year-old said retirement was looming fast.
"It's [retirement] obviously just around the corner… but exactly what I do, I'm not a hundred percent sure yet," he said, ahead of Saturday's game.
"But you know I'm still really enjoying playing and that's why I signed to play a couple more years in Japan so that'll take me through to 2020, sort of mid-2020… that's when my contract finishes in Japan."
By Mike Hunter, Rugbypass & AFP
