At his darkest moment Dan Carter was still thinking of his team-mates.

No sooner had the All Blacks’ most influential player been told his World Cup was over, his dream of redemption shattered, than he was doing his level best to support the young men who must now do the impossible and step into his boots.

Remarkably, one of the first things Carter did yesterday after receiving official confirmation he sent a text message to Colin Slade.

As low as he must have been feeling, the champion No 10 still understood the importance of a well-timed pass to a teammate.

Carter understands the responsibility, and the pressure, that now sits firmly on Slade’s shoulders, though the 23-year-old coped well enough in yesterday’s 79-15 romp over Canada to close out another one-sided pool phase for the All Blacks.

In the quarterfinal, Ireland will play Wales in Wellington on Saturday at 5pm.

France will play England at Eden Park on Saturday at 7.30pm.

Australia will play South Africa in Wellington on Sunday at 5pm and the All Blacks will face Argentina at Eden Park on Sunday night at 7.30pm.

You can catch the live commentaries of both games - the All Blacks/Argentina and South Africa/Australia game on Sunday, on our sister station, Viti FM with the voice of rugby, Malakai Veisamasama and expert comments from Ilivasi Tabua.


Story by: Dreu Vukailagi