“A superstar. Gutted I never played with him.”
Of McCaw, Carter said: “I learnt a lot from playing alongside my old mate. A real leader and took us to back-to-back World Cups. Thank God I was never on the opposite side!”
The admiration was mutual, with McCaw last December that Carter “must have been pretty close to beating me'' for the World Rugby player of the decade award.
Carter said had "tried to have a similar work ethic’' to Wilkinson, and playing against the England star during the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour was “a bit of a fan boy moment for me’’.