DAN CARTER MAY be the best player in world rugby but he is not even in the top three All Blacks, according to the New Zealand Rugby Union.
Carter took home – or sent Richie McCaw to take home – the IRB player of the year award last week but he has been snubbed in his homeland.
The outhalf, and top points scorers in world rugby, has not made it onto a three-man shortlist for the NZRU’s player of the year award.
Fellow IRB finalist Richie McCaw was named on the shortlist along with hard-grafting Number 8 Kieran Read and indomitable centre Conrad Smith.
There was also no place for winger Julian Savea, who scored a hat-trick on debut against Ireland in June and has 12 tries overall in nine appearances for the All Blacks.
Carter, who has embraced Twitter in recent months, has more pressing matters than national award nominations:
The award was won by Jerome Kaino in 2011 and Kieran Read the year before.
The Maori player of the year nominations are All Blacks fullback Israel Dagg, loose forward Liam Messam (Ngai Tuhoe) and scrum-half Aaron Smith.
The winners of the awards will be revealed in Auckland on Friday night.
