All Blacks star flyhalf Dan Carter yesterday denied speculation he had signed a deal to play Japanese club rugby, but did not rule out the prospect of a foray into the big-money league.
The 31-year-old, one of the highest-profile players in world rugby, is under contract with New Zealand until 2015, but has a clause allowing him to take a sabbatical built into the agreement.
Carter dismissed suggestions he had already signed with a Japanese club, but conceded his management had tested potential interest in both Europe and Japan.
“[They] are just throwing it out there, and talking to a few clubs and players,” he told reporters after training with his Super 15 club the Canterbury Crusaders.
“I am nowhere near signing any deal or getting closer to deciding what I am going to do, or whether I take my sabbatical or not. I am still not any closer to making a decision,” he added.
Japan national team coach Eddie Jones told Fairfax Media last month that Carter could command a salary of more than US$1 million if he played a stint in Japan.
While Carter would not be eligible for the All Blacks while playing in Japan, he could return to the New Zealand side after a spell in the Top League, following in the footsteps of center Ma’a Nonu.
Carter signed with French club Perpignan in the 2008-2009 season, but lasted only five matches before being sidelined by injury.
However, the injury risk is much lower in Japan, where the style of rugby is less physical than in European competitions.
All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw also has a sabbatical clause built into his New Zealand Rugby Union contract, which he is currently exercising to sit out most of the Super 15 season and travel the world.
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
Captain Vijay Kumar led the way yesterday as the Hsinchu Titans claimed the Taiwan Premier League title at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), beating PCCT by 27 runs. The weather was a topic again, but not the rain that played a role in previous matches in the often-delayed tournament. Kumar, who made 80 not out from 63 deliveries, and teammate Vishwajit Kumar (58 from 43) rescued the Titans from a precarious state at the end of the power play in the T20 match. The visitors were put in to bat and struggled to 26-3 as PCCT
China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an essay about Chinese basketball it said was written by LeBron James, but a representative for the NBA star said on Thursday that the article was based on a series of interviews. The paper, better known as the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, had said James authored the essay, “Basketball is a Bridge that Connects Us,” a tribute to Chinese players and fans of the sport written in the first person. “LeBron James Pens an Article in the People’s Daily,” read a post published on the newspaper’s official WeChat account. On Thursday, a representative
RSS