Payback time, big time, for Dan Carter as he guided New Zealand to their second World Cup on the spin and buried the hell of four years’ ago. Carter has a World Cup winners’ medal in his locker but that one means diddly squat compared to the one he pocketed at Twickenham on Saturday.
In 2011 Carter was the poster boy of a home tournament but ended up crocked and missed out on the business end of the party. This time round he was the business and he had 19 points to prove it. Australia tried to get Carter but they couldn’t do it and he buried the Wallabies with something to spare.
The All Blacks were cruising at 21-3 just after the break but when their full-back Ben Smith was sent to the bin the Aussies ran in two tries.
Most teams would have pressed the panic button but if you have got a bloke like Carter then you don’t need to panic. Think of Jonny Wilkinson, Cliff Morgan and Mark Ella all rolled into one then you realise how good a player this man is.
The fly-half banged over a drop goal from 45 metres and it was business as usual as the All Blacks dived through the tape. A late Beauden Barrett try put the tin lid on it and Carter and Co are kings of the world again.
That makes the Kiwis history boys. They are the first team to win three World Cups, the first team to retain the title and the first team to score three tries in a final since David Kirk’s boys in black did the trick in 1987.
If it really is goodbye to skipper Richie McCaw and Carter then they have been right up there. All Blacks’ boss Steve Hansen said: “Richie has probably been the greatest All Black with Dan a close second.”
McCaw bossed the back row battle and Carter did the rest, and when they do finally call it a day – Carter is off to Racing Metro but McCaw is undecided – the game will miss them.
In 1972 on 31 October they were beaten by Llanelli, in 1978 they were second best to Munster on the same date and in 1999 they were smashed by France here in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Those ghosts are gone now – smashed by one of the best teams ever seen in Test history. The best part of a dozen years on the top of the pile, the only team to retain the World Cup and didn’t they make it look easy in the end?
New Zealand's fly half Beauden Barrett scores a tryThe third: Beauden Barrett scores to seal the win
Aussie coach Michael Cheika said: “It was very painful to lose – when you look up and see the numbers it hurts.”
This lot are some team. Skipper McCaw – in his 148th Test - was ridiculously good. Brodie Retallick in the second row is a monster who will haunt the game for years to come and Carter was just Carter.
Carter banged over a couple of early penalties before Nehe Milner-Skudder stuck the boot in just before the break to give the All Blacks a 16-3 lead. Ma’a Nonu made it 21-3 when he made the most of an outrageous overhead
But tries from David Pocock and Tevita Kuridrani, after Smith had been yellow-carded, gave the Kiwis the hurry up. Carter took the heat out of the situation and when Barrett scooted over it was job done.
There will be a few retirements in the All Black ranks but the bad news is this lot are not going away.
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