Carter named Crusaders vice captain

Daniel Carter has been named as the Crusaders vice-captain for the upcoming Super 14 season.

Richie McCaw will still captain the Crusaders after leading them since 2005. Corey Flynn stood in as captain for McCaw while he was away in the first seven weeks in the ill fated All Black’s recon programme.

Crusaders Coach Robbie Deans said that Carter’s promotion was recognition of the key role he played within the team’s internal decision making processes.

“We’re arguably not really adding any more responsibility to Dan’s game, more just formally recognising the contribution to our on and off-field decision making that he has already been making,” Deans told Stuff.

Carter is a core member of the All Blacks at only 25 and he earned 58 Crusaders caps after he made his debut against the Hurricanes in 2003.

“We’ve got a lot of leaders within the team, and pretty much always have had during my time, so I don’t see there being a lot of difference this year,” Carter said.

“While it is an honour to take on a formal leadership role, we’ve always encouraged everyone to say their piece and contribute within the environment – whether they’ve played one game or 100 – and I don’t see that changing.

It’s one of the real strengths of our team culture. No one is placed on a higher pedestal than anyone else.”