New Zealand out-half Dan Carter is set to break record
New Zealand out-half Dan Carter looks set to pass England out-half Jonny Wilkinson’s points scoring record as he prepares for the All Blacks Test with Wales on Saturday 27 November.
Carter scored 18 points in the All Blacks 38-18 victory against Ireland and the out-half now needs only three points to pass Wilkinson, who holds the record for the most Test points scored with a total of 1,178.
Carter made his debut against Wales in 2003 and scored 20 points in his first Test match. The player admitted that it would be satisfying to break the record against Wales. Speaking to reporters, Carter said, "It would be pretty cool to achieve it against
the side where it all started, but the team comes first."
Carter is expected to break Wilkinson’s points tally in the Welsh match and New Zealand are expected to record a Grand Slam over the home nations.
Carter had a chance to break the record in a match in Dublin, but the All Black captain Richie McCaw asked the out-half to kick to touch and turn down the three points in order to put more pressure on Ireland.
"Personal milestones are nice and it's good to be proud of them, but that's not what drives me. If I get a couple of goals that would be good. I didn't know how many points I needed, I just wanted to take the kick. When I found out afterward, I gave Richie
some stick about it," said Carter.
However, McCaw feels that the out-half knew that he was closing in on the record. "Dan obviously knew how many points he was on because I had no idea, I wasn't thinking like that. The difference between a 15 and 18 point lead isn't much, so I thought we'd
put the pressure on."
It seems inevitable that the 28-year-old will break the record on Saturday and become the world’s leading scorer in Test rugby.
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