Dan Carter is unchallenged as the best fly-half in rugby today © Getty Images

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Factfile: Dan Carter

• Born: March 5, 1982, Leeston, Canterbury
• Test debut: v Wales, Hamilton 2003, won 55-3
• Tests: 99 Won 87 Lost 11 Drawn 1
• Points: 1435 (world record)
• Tries: 29
• Penalties: 254
• Conversions: 255 (world record)
• Drop goals: 6
• Most points in a Test: 33 v British and Irish Lions, Wellington, 2005

Dan Carter remembers being a bundle of nerves on his Test debut, but still nothing tops that night as the highlight of a prolific rugby career. The world-record points scorer now doesn't want the milestone of his 100th Test to distract him when New Zealand play England at Twickenham on Saturday, but he admits his mind has drifted occasionally this week.

Carter says he would never have believed a century of caps awaited when he made his debut against Wales at Waikato Stadium in 2003. Playing at second five-eighth outside Carlos Spencer against a team coached by current All Blacks mentor Steve Hansen, Carter showed the hype surrounding him was justified with a 20-point haul.

He recalls Irish referee Alan Lewis telling him to hurry up when he was lining up his first goal kick.

"It was because I was really nervous," he says of that first kick. "I was concentrating so hard that I didn't want to miss. Thankfully it sailed through."

Dan Carter in a stereotypical position © Getty Images

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That kick saw him land the first of his 1435 Test points, and his ability and clean-cut appearance have since seen him transcend rugby and its commercial arm to sign lucrative deals that have set him apart from most of his team-mates.

Giant billboards of Carter wearing only his underwear saw him inhabit a different world from his rural upbringing at Southbridge, south of Christchurch.

"I've been very lucky because of my hard work and success on the field," he says.

"It's opened up doors and created opportunities. But all the commercial stuff and things that I do, I always make sure it never gets in the way of my biggest priority. That's rugby, and that's something that's never changed from day one."

Carter's earliest rugby memory is of a five-year-old watching John Kirwan score an epic solo try for the All Blacks against Italy at Rugby World Cup 1987. His father, Neville - who will be at Twickenham on Saturday - then coached him as a junior, and destiny was born.

Carter agrees with the view held by many fans and pundits that he produced his best Test performance in the second match against the British & Irish Lions in Wellington in 2005.

He scored two tries in claiming 33 points, eclipsing Jonny Wilkinson with a display that saw him claim the unofficial mantle as world's best No.10 from the England star. Few players since have challenged Carter for that honour, and he hopes his coming six-month sabbatical from rugby will allow him to remain at the top of his game through to Rugby World Cup 2015 and beyond.

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Dan Carter produced his best performance in the 2005 Wellington Test against the British & Irish Lions © Getty Images

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