“The French XV will be hard to beat,” declared Dan Carter.

While publishing his book “The Art of Victory: The Culture of Excellence in 10 Lessons” (Murabit), Dan Carter, the former New Zealand national team player (41 years old), returned to the RMC Sport team in the opening match of the World Cup between the two teams. France and New Zealand. Double world champion (2011, 2015), who played three seasons in Racing 92, talks to us about Mathieu Galibert, the very high level of the Blues, and even their mental strength.

Dan Carter, what do you think of the France-New Zealand match to open the 2023 World Cup (Blues win 27-13)?

The opening match of the World Cup was a great match. There was a lot of enthusiasm and excitement around this meeting. There were two big houses in world rugby facing each other. What an amazing atmosphere in the Stade de France but also throughout the country! The 15th showed France that it would be difficult to overcome with all the support from the crowd. And then the French were too good for the All Blacks. This is a world class team. The Blacks will be disappointed not to win their first game. This is the first defeat in our history in the group stage of the World Cup. It’s a tough blow, but we learn a lot from our defeats. The nice thing is that there will not be a big gap if we finish first or second in our group, because in the quarter-finals we will face either South Africa, Ireland or Scotland, among the teams favored to win. This World Cup. I truly believe the All Blacks will learn a lesson from this defeat and be better off to reach the quarter-finals. Once you’re in quarters, anything can happen.

You, the former international flyer, what do you say about Mathieu Jalibert’s performance? After Romain Ntamack withdrew in mid-August, does Mathieu have the ability to help the French XV win the World Cup?

When I heard about Roman’s injury, I thought of him for the first time. How frustrating and sad he was. He has been one of the best players in the world for several seasons. When you’re about to play the World Cup on home soil, it’s hard to miss. But I knew that the strength of the French XV was precisely in their squad, and I knew that they had developed real depth on the bench in every position. Mathieu is a great player too, I remember him when I played in France. I was fascinated to see how he played on Friday and I thought he had a great game. He controlled the match very well, and was always very accurate. His decision making was always calm and clear. That’s what I like about this team, the depth of the bench. In the World Cup, you face injuries, setbacks and players lack the required level. The entire team will be tested.

“Ireland, South Africa and France stand out after this weekend.”

The fourth chapter of your book “The Art of Conquest: The Culture of Excellence in Ten Lessons” (Murabit) is entirely devoted to the mind. You talk about your meeting with black psychologist Gilbert Enoka and how it was crucial to your career. Today, the blues are monitored by a psychiatric unit and they work a lot on mental management. Moreover, we saw it on Friday evening…what did you think?

Yes, it’s clearly something they’ve been working on. Even when they are under tremendous pressure, they still believe that they will win. They have built a winning mentality and are playing for something bigger than themselves. They are able to lead and ultimately win. Later in the competition, they will be under more pressure than they were in the opening match. In those moments, when you’re behind on the scoreboard or when things aren’t going your way, the question is: How do you get your game on? How do you manage your weak times? The French showed that they were able to withstand these moments. It is the real strength of the team.

After the first weekend of matches, who are the favorites to win the World Cup?

The three that stand out after this weekend are Ireland, South Africa and France. It will be difficult to beat France, with their fans, their energy and everyone behind them. South Africa looks very dominant. Ireland has flown under the radar a bit. It’s been a clinical treatment for a long time, and yet no one talks about it.

How do you explain the All Black’s complicated season and their two recent defeats (to the Blues on Friday and to South Africa 35-7 in a test match on August 25)? Is New Zealand rugby in crisis?

It’s hard to see why they haven’t been as consistent as the All Blacks of previous generations when you’re not in the group on a daily basis. What is certain is that they have great players and great coaches. Something is not working. Or rather, not yet! Because I know they work extremely hard. They must learn from the setbacks they suffered against South Africa and against France. What are two or three things that urgently need to be improved so that we can perform in the final stages? That’s what they’re going to work on and that’s why I still think they can be a much better team than they showed in the last two games. They have made great progress this year compared to last year. It’s exciting, but they still have to find what will make the difference in their game.

During the 2015 World Cup final against Australia (39-17 Blacks victory), Brody was there by your side Retallick, Sam whitelock, Jerome Caino, Richie McCaw, Aaron Smith, water Nuno, Julian Savea… Compared to your generation, do you understand why the current All Blacks are said to be the worst team New Zealand has ever had?

no. The 2015 team was truly special. We worked hard on our mental strength. We wanted to be the dominant team of the decade. And we built our team long before the World Cup. We wanted to make history, become the first team to win the world title twice in a row, which had never happened before until then. But he also became the first All Black to win the competition abroad. We had great players, and we built confidence in ourselves. We paid. We were so confident in what we could do that the teams put a lot of pressure on us. That’s why we won. Ending my international career at these levels was a special moment for me. Today’s All Blacks have some great players who have already achieved great things and are great leaders. Such as Sam Whitlock, Brody Retallick, Aaron Smith, Beauden Barrett and the list goes on! There’s just something missing. Not sure what it is exactly. But the beauty of the World Cup is that when you get to the final stages, anything can happen. Look at South Africa in the last World Cup (Japan 2019). They played very poorly during the pre-season, losing their first match to the Blacks, and yet they won the championship. Or the French in 2011. They collapsed in the group stage and then rose up, reached the final and came very close to winning the World Cup. Every edition is different.