Congratulations Daniel Carter on 100 Test Caps! Is Dan Our Greatest Ever?

Dan Carter has started his 100th test for the All Blacks joining fellow current All Blacks - and Mils Muliai'ina - Richie McCaw, Tony Woodcock and Keven Mealamu in the century club.

It was short and sweet though with Carter coming off the field halfway through the 1st half with an ankle injury that appears to have ended his season prematurely. Carter did kick 2 conversions and a penalty from 3 attempts at goal before being replaced by Aaron Cruden.

There is no doubt that Dan Carter deserves to be in that club with many claiming that he could be our greatest All Black.

It is general consensus amongst rugby fans that he is definitely our greatest ever first five eighth and our greatest ever back. He holds the record for the most test points at 1,433 (29 tries scored along the way) but stats of course do not fully illustrate the greatness of Dan Carter's abilities as the All Blacks' pivot for the last 9 years or so since he first featured at 10 in the 2004 End of Year Tour.

The All Blacks have never such an all-rounded and capable footballer as Dan Carter - both in attack and defence. We've had fantastic first fives like Earle Kirton, Grant Fox, Andrew Mehrtens, Carlos Spencer, etc. but none of them have been as complete a player as Dan Carter.

But whether he is our greatest All Black, well that remains to be seen.

Two true greats of the game 

It is quite hard to choose our greatest rugby player ever given the variety of positions involved in the sport and different skill set required for each position. Indeed, is it fair to hand the title of greatest player ever on the basis he has scored more points than anyone else, when the role of prop which doesn't garner as many points as a wing, is probably just as important if not more so?

I guess it comes down to aura and mantra and in that regard, perhaps Dan Carter falls a little bit short in comparison to his teammate Richie McCaw or the likes of Colin Meads.

Rugby is a physical sport and its figureheads are often the forwards - the forwards are often the best captains.

Nevertheless, it is the backs who always thrill us and capture the imagination of the casual rugby follower and in that regard, Dan Carter is our greatest, having excited with his skill and talent with ball in hand and got us cheering on the All Blacks with clearance kick after clearance kick.

Perhaps it's a testament to the man from Southbridge that even after 100 All Blacks tests and the huge success on and off the field as a rugby player on a personal and financial level, he is still as humble as ever and that this fame and fortune has made him as discreet and nonchalant as ever - which makes him a real great and role model for all.

Dan Carter may not be our greatest ever All Black but he is very much up there, and deserves to be. If you're the best ever to play that position, you'd deserve to be rank amongst the greatest of the great.