Richard Loe: Carter shows why he is worth every cent

Dan Carter. Photo / Getty Images

This weekend's Super Rugby has really put the cat among the pigeons and has also shown why it was such a smart move to retain Dan Carter in this country.

The Blues self-destructed against the Stormers on Friday night in a second dropped game that could ruin their season. They had done the hard work and should have won.

But then Luke McAlister missed a pressure kick at goal which would have kept them safe. No 8 Peter Saili - who has otherwise had a good season - then decided to kick but got it majorly wrong and booted the ball out on the full.

That allowed the Stormers to set the platform for the raids which eventually won them the game with Schalk Burger's last-minute try. It was a try, too. The ref saw it clearly enough and asked the video ref only if there was any reason not to award it.

There's two things to remark on here: McAlister's miss and Saili's kick which was a return to what the Blues have been eradicating from their game all season; the silly mistake which costs dear.

All Saili had to do was take the tackle and set up the ball for his team. I don't think he will be kicking the ball much any time soon.

As for McAlister, regular readers of this column know that I would not have him in the All Black World Cup side. That missed kick is why. He is a good player, sure, but he is prone to the pressure mistake - a missed kick here, a dropped ball there; a missed tackle over there. He is not for me.

And that's why the NZRU deserve more congratulations over Carter. Keep him, by all means. Spend the money on him - and let the likes of McAlister, Stephen Donald, Mike Delany, Stephen Brett, Robbie Robinson and Aaron Cruden head overseas, if that's what they want. It's hard even to gauge if Colin Slade is up to it, as he's had so little rugby.

But put the money you are saving on them into the next generation of young first fives - identify, develop and coach them into the next Super Rugby, Tri Nations and World Cup cycles and use Carter's know-how to help do so.

As for the Crusaders, I must admit I picked the Chiefs to beat them last night. Not a chance. Even with their injuries and some strange names in their roster, they were simply too strong in the scrum, the lineouts and the loose. They selected a game plan and simply choked down on the Chiefs.

The Chiefs couldn't get anything going as the Crusaders kept the ball, played the percentages and waited for the mistakes. They came under pressure. Lock Luke Romano wafted through some poor defence for their only try, caused by that same pressure.

The Crusaders had all the ball and the Chiefs did well to stay with them in the first half but you saw the dominance in the second. The front row was experienced and it told with the Chiefs scrum. The Crusaders also had it over them in the rucks, mauls and breakdowns.

The little-known players like Romano and halfback Willie Heinz did well - and the latter is really just a good club player. They also had Brent Ward on the wing and he showed his experience a few times with good decisions.

That's the Crusaders - they knit themselves into a tight unit. The Chiefs, meanwhile, didn't have some of their senior players stand up - people like Donald and Mils Muliaina, though Liam Messam tried hard.

Mils might be a bit lucky that Israel Dagg is injured, otherwise he might be starting off the bench for the All Blacks again and Sitiveni Sivivatu worked away without really convincing either.

Richie McCaw is still on his way back but if you wanted any reasons to keep Carter in this country, they were all on show last night. Running, kicking, passing, defending - he was man of the match and it was particularly good to see him having a crack at a few droppies with the World Cup coming up. You have to practise somewhere.

However, before then, the June 11 match with the Blues really shapes as the conference decider now, though this week the Crusaders have to go to Brisbane to take on the Reds. Fascinating stuff.