Dan Carter (Getty Images)
With
the countdown on to the Halberg awards on February 18, Newshub is
running through the credentials for the sportsman and sportswoman of the
year contenders.
In part four of the series, Hamish McKay looks at why All Black Dan Carter should take out the Sportsman trophy.
Should Dan Carter win the Halberg Sportsman of the
Year award? Well, in a country where rugby is our every waking hour, our
meat and three veg and our Sunday rest, this is a no brainer. It's our
game, our yard stick, it's what we do.
From the moment the left-footed Carter slotted the
final conversion of the World Cup final - with his right foot - this
award was a done deal. The crux of this is that Carter had achieved what
so many of the critics and doubting fans thought he couldn't.
Like an ageing thoroughbred with dodgy bones and
joints taking their toll, Carter stood tall in a way that can only be
described as from another planet, a bit like Novak Djokovic against
Roger Federer at the Aussie open.
And
now that Planet Dan has left our solar system it's time we acknowledged
him with the ultimate sporting accolade. If it's good enough for the
BBC and Laureus awards, then it has to be good enough for the Halberg
awards.
Players like Carter don't come along
every day. He's a freak of nature and some clearly outstanding nurture
down there on the plains, south of Christchurch.
Humble
and blessed with that "gee, shucks, who me" kind of innocence, Carter
made us feel like he was the boy next door. At the same time his very
presence sapped the confidence from every opposing team, something that
was never better illustrated than at RWC 2016.
Without
him the All Blacks will move into a whole new space of vulnerability.
With him running the cutter they went back-to-back.
The
very fact that he will never wear the black jersey again is, in itself;
reason enough to acknowledge Carter's 2016 Rugby World Cup dominance.
The cake and the icing were perfection. It's time to put the cherry on
the top.
Had Danny Lee won the Masters or Scott
Dixon had switched to Formula One and headed off Lewis Hamilton and co,
then maybe we'd have a debate. But they didn't. Game, set and match to
Carter.
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