New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter spots a gap in the Ireland defence © Getty Images

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Star All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter was relieved to put an average Super 14 behind him with a flawless goalkicking display to move to third on the all-time Test point-scoring list.

Carter kicked eight from eight for a 17-point haul in the All Blacks' 66-28 win over Ireland at Yarrow Stadium before making way for young debutant Aaron Cruden in the 54th minute. It saw Carter become the fourth member of the 1000-club, with his haul of 1011 moving him past Diego Dominguez (1010) and leaving him behind only Jonny Wilkinson (1175) and Neil Jenkins (1090).

Carter's goalkicking had its moments for the Crusaders during the Super 14, while his general play was worryingly off key at times. Last night he defied the greasy ball and tricky wind to nail seven conversions and penalty.

"I remembered last year that I'd missed out on 1000 points so I wasn't too far away. I'm happy to reach that milestone," he said. "It's always what you strive for to have a flawless night with the boot like that. It's been pretty challenging with the wind so I those training sessions really paid off. I struck it well and it was a good confidence booster."

Carter said the extended buildup, including a three-day camp in Auckland, helped the All Blacks hit the ground running last night as they scored nine tries to four, albeit against a depleted Ireland whose No.8 Jamie Heaslip was marched for kneeing in the 15th minute.

"We haven't started all that well the last couple of years but the way we played that first 30 minutes was fantastic. I was extremely proud of the boys and the way we started the game.

"All the guys that got on for their first caps were brilliant. Benson (Stanley) and Izzy (Dagg) played extremely well, played with confidence and you wouldn't know it was their first game."

List of record point scorers in Test rugby:
Jonny Wilkinson (England/Lions) 1175 points (85 Tests)
Neil Jenkins (Wales/Lions) 1090 (91)
DAN CARTER (New Zealand) 1011 (67)
Diego Dominguez (Argentina/Italy) 1010 (76)
Andrew Mehrtens (NZ) 967 (70)
Ronan O'Gara (Ireland/Lions) 963 (101)

Click here for the complete list courtesy of Statsguru