Why Carter missed the cut
Dan Carter, in the opinion of most pundits, is one of the first names written down in any New Zealand team. Not so for All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.
The Kiwi mentor ignored the star flyhalf, Carter, when he announced a revamped side to face England on Saturday.
Instead Hansen entrusting a rejuvenated Aaron Cruden as playmaker in the Twickenham cauldron.
Hansen made 10 changes to the run-on side that romped to a 74-6 win over the United States last week.
While bringing back veterans – including skipper Richie McCaw – for the toughest Test of New Zealand's Northern Hemisphere tour was expected, the absence of Carter from the entire matchday squad was the big bolter.
The world's leading Test point scorer, Carter, played half-an-hour off the bench against the Americans – after returning from a string of injuries.
Hansen denied he was wrapping the 32-year-old in cotton wool, because he was scared of exposing his prize asset to a tough England outfit.
He said Carter was simply not ready for a Test of such intensity at this stage of his comeback.
"Dan's fitness is fine, he just hasn't played enough yet to play in a match like this," he said.
Hansen said he also wanted to persist with Cruden's combination with Sonny Bill Williams, who completed his return from Rugby League against the Americans last week, after the pair worked well together in Chicago.
"We've seen them against lesser opposition so now we want to see them against some quality opposition," he said.
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