According to media reports in New Zealand and sources in Paris, Racing Metro 92 are expected to announce this week that Dan Carter will join them after next year's Rugby World Cup in England.
The iconic All Black outhalf will succeed Ireland's Jonathan Sexton as the Parisian club's first-choice pivot, although Carter will have to fend off the claims of French international outhalf Remi Tales, who will move from Castres Olympique to Racing at the end of the season.
Sexton returns to Leinster this summer after a two-year playing hiatus in France. Racing owner Jacky Lorenzetti is a fan of Carter and is prepared to sanction a big-money offer for the 32-year-old Kiwi, providing coaches Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers are happy that the outhalf fits into their plans.
Lorenzetti admitted in September: “If the coaches agree, Dan Carter may be an opportunity to strengthen the club next season.”
Carter has previous experience of playing in France having agreed a seven-month contract with Perpignan back in 2008.
He managed just five games before suffering a partial rupture of his Achilles tendon in a league game against Stade Francais on January 31st, 2009. Carter, who been capped on 102 occasions by the All Blacks, scoring 1455 points, was for most of his career considered the best outhalf in world rugby, winning the IRB World Player of the Year in 2005 and 2012.
In recent times though injuries have kept him sidelined – he missed most of the 2011 World Cup in his home country after tearing his groin against Canada early in the tournament – and his form was disappointing in New Zealand’s recent end of season tour to the northern hemisphere, featuring in the games against the USA and Scotland rather than England and Wales.
The emergence of Beauden Barrett, Aaron Cruden and Colin Slade, a teammate of Carter's at the Crusaders, means that New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has plenty of choice at outhalf.
Carter will be 33 in March and if he does join Racing Metro – his NZRFU contract is up next year – he won’t be considered for any mote Test matches during to the New Zealand policy of only picking players who play their rugby in the country. Barrett and Cruden have one and two years respectively left on their contracts with the NZRFU.
