Source: Planet Rugby

All Blacks legend Dan Carter has cast his eye over the best fly-halves in rugby union ahead of the start of the Rugby World Cup.

The global tournament begins this weekend as hosts France take on New Zealand in the opener on Friday, but the 41-year-old’s mind immediately went to the playmakers who won’t be there.

Romain Ntamack was sadly ruled out of the World Cup after he sustained an ACL injury during the warm-up matches, while Handre Pollard was not selected due to a calf issue.

Pollard is back training with his club side Leicester Tigers so he could well be called up by the Springboks at some stage but, as things stand, he will miss out on the competition.

Key behind 2019 title

“I went straight to, not because I think he’s the best fly-half, but, obviously, because of what Romain Ntamack is going through at the moment,” Carter told SportsJOE.

“Having such a serious injury right leading into a Rugby World Cup game is devastating. His form for Toulouse has been incredible. His combination with Antoine Dupont has been been amazing. So really sad to see him go.

“Also, Handre Pollard – you know that he’s going to perform in big moments in the Rugby World Cup (knockout) games.

“He’s a huge loss, for the Springboks to not have him there, because he would have learned so much from 2015, you know, when he played in his first World Cup and then obviously turned things are around and really drove the Springboks to victory in 2019.

“So he’s a huge, huge loss. A couple of the top ones are not going to be there.”

Carter is also a huge admirer of Johnny Sexton, who will be key to Ireland’s chances after he returned from his three-match ban for abusing Jaco Peyper.

“The way that he’s evolved his game, it’s similar to myself. You know he’s not gonna be scoring tries and he’ll probably send me a message joking about this,” he said.

“He’s not gonna be scoring tries from 50 metres out, you know, beating five or six defenders to score the match-winning try.

“But his ability to control the game and influence the game has been huge for Ireland over the last few years and the big reason why they’ve been so successful because of his game management and the way he directs the team around the field. He’s such a pivotal, influential player.

“So hopefully, you know, he can find some form and get back from his injury and the setbacks that, that he’s had recently because he’s a big part of that squad.”