Rugby World Cup 2015: 'Phantom' Carter ready to haunt Wallabies

New Zealand All Blacks 1st-five Daniel Carter during the All Blacks kickers practice at Twickenham Stadium, London. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

To many opposition teams over the course of his 13 years of test rugby, Dan Carter has been a phantom-like character pulling the strings in the black No10 jersey - there but suddenly not there; and there again to kick you to death with his accurate boot.

It's appropriate then, that his favourite superhero costume in a surprisingly large collection is The Phantom, a fictional crime-fighting superhero in a black skin-tight outfit who also goes by the name of "The Ghost Who Walks".

It was one of the jewels thrown up today in a surprisingly relaxed press conference on the eve of his last test, one which also happens to be the biggest of his considerable career.

Never before has Carter played in a World Cup final. Last time his groin injury ripped that away from him. The time before that, in 2007, the dream ended in a flood of tears on the Millennium Stadium sideline. And the time before that, 2003, the Wallabies had the last laugh in the semifinal in Sydney.

So, he hasn't experienced a final before, but he has seen just about everything else in the game. To that end, the best thing he can do before and during the test at Twickenham tomorrow morning is to be himself.

So how reassuring for his supporters and teammates that that was what he was in front of the media before he through his final preparations with fellow kicker Beauden Barrett under the eye of coach Steve Hansen at this famous old stadium.

Carter is well-known in Crusaders circles as being a fan of dress-up parties. To that end he has a huge collection of outfits, many of them superhero costumes (in fact he has just about every superhero costume), but they don't stop there. He also has form for dressing up as other fictional characters - his Captain Jack Sparrow from The Pirates of the Carribean bears more than a passing resemblance to the actor who plays him, Johnny Depp.

Asked today about his outfits, Carter said: "My wife made me get rid of them all ... once our first child arrived. I had to pass them on to a close friend of mine. It sounds a bit weird, but Ali Williams and I like to dress up and started a wee collection of pretty much every superhero costume there is. I'm not too sure what's behind that, but I've got a good wee collection sitting at a mate's house now."

Pressed on his favourite, Carter replied: "Oh jeez, probably the first one I got - The Phantom."

This test will be his 112th and last for Carter before he moves with his family to Paris and a contract at Racing Metro. Whatever happens, it is unlikely to define him because of what he has achieved in the game. As the highest points scorer in test rugby, Carter probably reached his peak in 2005 with his stunning performances against the British and Irish Lions, and through hard work has maintained a consistently high level of performance since.

"No, I don't think so," was his reply when asked whether the match would define his career. "Obviously it's a huge occasion after some of the disappointments I've had in previous World Cups but it's not really something I've been thinking about - the past or what might happen after the final whistle.

"It's purely been focusing on what I can do for this team. It's not about me or the guys playing their last game, it's about this 2015 All Black side who have been working extremely hard all year. My motivating factor is to go out there and play as well as I possibly can for my teammates alongside me."

Coach Hansen also moved quickly to say: "Can I just add to that? I don't think a guy who has played over 100 test matches like Dan has, his career is not defined by one game. I think he's already defined his career - it's been one of greatness. I think he's added to the All Black jersey in many many ways over many many test matches. Yes, it is an important test match for him and for everybody involved but it certainly won't define is career, that's already been written in the history books.

"He's brought a new dimension to first-fives - he's brought tackling. I don't think Foxy [Grant Fox] made one in his career and [Andrew] Mehrtens didn't make too many either, just to be quite honest. The modern-day first-five has to tackle now and that's something that will be a legacy that's he's left for all first-fives."

Not a superhero, just a normal bloke from Southbridge who turned himself into a great player and a great All Black, one who just might haunt the Wallabies in his final battle.