Rugby World Cup 2015 final: Dan Carter gets fitting end to All Blacks career

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LONDON: It was the stage fit for a hero and Dan Carter stepped up for New Zealand as the champion playmaker erased the injury heartbreak of missing the All Blacks' victory four years ago.

Carter was named man of the match in his 113th and last Test, orchestrating New Zealand's win against Australia and calming his team down when the Wallabies launched a second-half comeback.

While New Zealand captain Richie McCaw is yet to make a call on his All Blacks career, Carter knew the 34-17 victory was his last game in the famous jersey.

It was a fitting way for Carter to finish his international career as he prepares for a move to France, which will make him the highest-paid player in the world when he joins Racing Metro on a deal worth more than $2 million per season.

Crucial: Dan Carter lands his drop goal.Credit: Shaun Botterill

Carter showed he was worth every cent with a 19-point haul that spearheaded New Zealand's charge and he will undoubtedly go down as one of the game's greatest five-eighths.

The man of the match effort was also a sweet way to move on from missing the All Blacks' triumphant 2011 campaign, when injury ruled him out of the tournament. Carter still got a World Cup winner's medal four years ago, but this one was different.

"This one means a lot more. It was a pretty tough, dark place four years ago, I would have loved to have been a part of it - a World Cup final in New Zealand," Carter said.

"I've had to work extremely hard to be here today. I'm just so proud of the guys and what they've achieved. To win back-to-back World Cups, no other team has done it before. It just goes to show how special this group is."

Carter turned in a near flawless display with the boot, missing just one conversion and booting four penalties and slotting a second-half drop goal that snuffed out Australia's comeback.

The Wallabies charged back into the contest when they scored 14 unanswered points before Carter changed the momentum. He calmly took the ball 41 metres out, stepped off his right foot and then nailed the long-range attempt to give the All Blacks breathing space.

It was a defining moment of the match, and the rugby world lit up with universal praise of the champion No.10.

Carter added 12 tackles to his workload and provided the steady foot the All Blacks needed to hang on to lift the William Webb Ellis Cup.

"It was just superb, he said: 'give it me, I'll do it'," said England World Cup-winner Jonny Wilkinson.

Carter finishes his international days with 1598 points.

"I'm so pleased for him. He's a great player. There was always one little blemish - never won a World Cup. But today he's done that and it's been a long journey for him," said the Wallabies' 1991 World Cup champion Michael Lynagh.

"The disappointment of getting injured at the last World Cup ... to come out and have that performance ... just wonderful. I'm so pleased for Dan Carter to go out that way."

Carter was struggling to come to grips with his moment in the sun.

"I practised a few [drop goals] in the backyard with the old man and I was pretty pleased it went over, I was yelling at the ball to make sure it went over," Carter said.

"It just gave us a little bit of breathing space, it was a pretty important part of the game. This is right up there. It's the ultimate, it's our third World Cup but we've never won one outside of New Zealand.

"It's been an amazing career and to finish it on this note ... I still can't quite believe it to be honest."

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