Rugby: Carter could play in Japan

Dan Carter will not be eligible for All Black tests while he's based offshore. Photo / Getty Images

The sabbatical clause in Dan Carter's contract means he will not be eligible for All Black tests while he's based offshore. As was the case in 2009, if Carter decides for another offshore stint in the next four years he will do so in a period where the All Blacks don't actually play any tests. While he has no date or club in mind it is thought that should Carter take a sabbatical it will possibly be in Japan.

"I haven't looked at anything at all like whether I went back to Europe or to Japan or even just took a break," he said in regard to his thoughts about taking a sabbatical. "I'm really happy playing my rugby here at the moment and I'm looking to continue that for now." The attraction of Japan is that the rugby is fast and challenging but less physical than the Top 14 in France. The dates of the Top League competition are also conducive to being involved for the majority of a campaign in Japan while not overlapping with All Black tests.

The game in Japan is enjoying significant growth ahead of hosting the 2019 World Cup. In recent months a host of big names, including Brad Thorn, Mike Delany and George Smith, have signed to play in Japan. Mils Muliaina is expected to confirm he will play there shortly.

But Carter is not likely to give a sabbatical any thought until after the World Cup. When he chose to play for Perpignan for the first six months of 2009, that deal had been secured before he re-signed with the New Zealand Rugby Union.

He had decided at the start of 2008 that he wouldn't renew his NZRU contract at the end of the year and would head offshore. His agent secured him a longer deal to play at Perpignan and it was only when the NZRU offered a sabbatical option that the prospect of reducing that to six months was discussed.

Carter only managed a handful of games before incurring serious injury which created doubt as to whether the risks attached to such short term deals were too great for clubs to see them as good value.

All Black captain Richie McCaw will also be offered the option of spending time offshore or not playing. Given his age, the position he plays and the battering his body has already taken, McCaw is believed to be more inclined to seek a non-playing sabbatical.