All Blacks coach Graham Henry has defended his decision to remove Dan Carter in the 60th minute of last night's 26-24 extra-time defeat to the Wallabies at Hong Kong Stadium.
When Carter left the field the All Blacks were leading 24-12 but within minutes of his exit the Wallabies had scored a try to wing Drew Mitchell and then mounted attack after attack to finally pop open the Kiwis' defensive line.
After Carter's departure the All Blacks fortunes then got progressively worse and when his replacement, Stephen Donald, botched a clearing kick following an All Blacks turnover it allowed Kurtley Beale to launch another counter-attack that led to James O'Connor scoring the Australians' winning try which he then converted.
Carter's appearance at Hong Stadium was his first appearance since playing the Springboks in Soweto on August 22; after that match he had surgery on his right ankle to remove some bone chips and although he had a 40 minute run in a pick-up game last weekend he was still well short of match fitness.
Yet despite the lengthy lay-off, the first five-eighth still looked capable of playing into the final quarter but was shipped out of the game when Henry opted to bring Donald on.
"We just have to make sure we look after people and he wasn't going to play the full game in this game,'' Henry said afterwards. "He talked to the medical staff at halftime and they discussed 60 minutes.
"He has come back from a reasonably major operation in his first game and we didn't want to risk injuring him badly.''
Although he missed several kicks for goal, Carter's ability to run the backline and fire out pinpoint skip passes to his runners ensured the backline ran relatively smoothly, while his defence was also sound.
For Donald, who was playing his first test match since last year's northern tour it was a night he will not recall with any great fondness.
When asked about the Waikato playmaker's cameo, Henry acknowledged it was a disappointing performance.
"I think it was a test of character for the team and individuals. Some of the individuals won't be happy with the way they played and they will be disappointed they didn't close it down.
"Stephen would be one of those guys. Stephen is a very experienced footballer and he will handle it. We will assist as time goes on.''
Meanwhile, right wing Cory Jane, who left the field in the second half with a rib injury, was last night having scans to determine whether he suffered any significant damage.
He is the second wing to suffer an injury in as many days; Sitiveni Sivivatu was ruled out of the tour after failing to leave New Zealand because of a knee problem and may need an operation.
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