All Black Carter signs new deal - complete with six months off!

Newly-promoted French club Toulon, coached by his former New Zealand captain
Tana Umaga, are one option and have reportedly offered the 26-year-old NZ 1.4
million (£540,000) for a six-month stint and he has confirmed there is one other
club interested but has refused to name them.

Future plans: Dan Carter has negotiated a unique deal with the New Zealand RFU

Carter admitted it was "a weight off the shoulders" after signing on the
dotted line today and he also revealed he had spoken to Umaga as he continued his fact-finding mission on Toulon.

"I had a good chat with (Tana)," the Crusaders number 10 said. "He was
extremely honest about the club and the city. It was really good to get (the opinion of) a player that I know and respect. It'll help when I'm deciding where to go.

"He was extremely positive. He's trying to make a few changes in the club
which is good.

"They are extremely passionate, the French. They've got real support there in
Toulon which excites me. They have gone up to the first division and he's
extremely happy about that. The standard of play, refereeing will go up a notch
- it's all pretty positive."

Carter's signing comes hot on the heels of All Blacks captain Richie McCaw's
decision to stick with New Zealand rugby.

McCaw also has a sabbatical option in his contract but said rather than chase a
lucrative deal abroad, he would be more likely to use his six months as a chance
to rest, given the battering his body takes in the course of a year, although he
stressed he was not planning to exercise the option in the near future.

Carter however, was not of the same mindset.

"I'm looking to play," he added. "I'm only 26, my body's in good shape.

"I love playing the game and if I wasn't having a sabbatical I wouldn't have a
rest, I'd be playing Super 14, so that's why I'm looking at the options
overseas."

The deal means Carter is likely to play on the All Blacks' autumn tour of
Britain before possibly hopping across the English Channel to France for six
months before returning to New Zealand in time for the June Tests, therefore
missing the entire 2009 Super 14 season.

Should his sabbatical go ahead it will be the first time a New Zealand player
has been allowed to play overseas and remain eligible for All Blacks selection.

However, Carter, widely regarded as the best fly-half in the world, insisted
recently he did not expect preferential treatment from the New Zealand coaches
when it came to selection.

"Coaches and selectors will have to look at my form overseas," he added. "I
don't just expect to be selected in the All Blacks. I need to be playing
well."