Chris Rattue: Shock! Player says something interesting

Dan Carter of the All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images

Dan Carter has ignored Rugby Central’s mind-numbing conventions and dared to question a board decision

Dan Carter is the mouse who roared by rugby standards.

The 2015 season has got off to a flying start with Carter, our best No 10 ever, not only opening his mouth but saying something logical and interesting that the people who nominally employ him won't necessarily agree with. Carter basically went public with what the players had told the franchise about a proposed match in Fiji and it worked judging by the subsequent decision by the Crusaders to scrap the idea.

Any sort of free speech is such a rarity in New Zealand rugby that it is not only worth celebrating, but also encouraging in the forlorn hope others will dare to follow.

Not since the days of Justin Marshall and Tana Umaga - and those days are quite some time ago - have leading All Blacks or anybody else had anything to say worth listening to.

Apart from self-serving moaning about referees, normally in the form of a search for consistency that pretends the whinger has rugby's interests at heart, we get zilch. A lot of what we get sounds as if it was prepared by someone else on a whiteboard. It's almost a relief to hear a genuine opinion.

The only exception that comes to mind is Zac Guildford who, having been chucked out of the inner circle because of his addiction issues, criticised the money-obsessed NZRU on a couple of issues.

That was nearly two years ago and we've been treated to the normal golly-gosh diatribe since, of proud players, special moments and wonderful team-mates.

If there was something more substantial around all of that, then okay. But when that is all you get, it dawdles in one ear and hurtles out the other.

New Zealand rugby personalities, to use the term very loosely, hide behind the game's stony-faced traditions, team-first modesty, employment law, judicial conveniences, PR lackeys and anything else they can get their hands on. This has got worse in the professional age, a result being that tribalism and fiery rivalries, the absolute essence of great sport, have virtually disappeared apart from at test level where traditional foes still stir the public interest.

Player A could stamp all over Player B, organise a robbery of his home, steal away with his wife and short circuit his model railway and Player B would put out a press release saying he had learned from the experience and was moving forward.

Central control - the dear old NZRU - set these mind-numbing standards, although All Blacks coach Steve Hansen's dry observations have put a little dent in the mould, without actually breaking it. By world events, Carter hasn't said all that much but, by the New Zealand rugby credo, the genius footballer with a retiring personality has turned into rent-a-mouth.

What did he do? Carter urged the Crusaders board to listen to the players and abandon plans to play a Super Rugby match against the Hurricanes in Fiji. Carter said the franchise should pay more respect to local fans and schedule the game in Nelson, while the Fiji trip would hurt the Crusaders' chances of winning the title.

Hallelujah. And how easy was that to do, Dan? And everyone else? And, wow, players actually talk about issues, without being told what to think. Could have fooled us on that.

Of course, the Crusaders aren't actually Carter's boss. Under the central contract system, he belongs to the NZRU and it is a brave player indeed who would go up against those control freaks. But we can still be thankful for this small mercy.

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