New England Patriots Tried to Sign New Zealand Rugby Star Dan Carter in 2013

Dan Carter will be remembered as one of the greatest rugby union players in history when he calls time on his career—but things might have been slightly different.

The Rugby World Cup winner has revealed that he was courted by the New England Patriots back in 2013, and after a meeting with team owner Robert Kraft genuinely considered the possibility of a switch to the NFL.

He said, per the Daily Telegraph:

"

I ended up sitting with the head of special teams, who works with kickers and other specialists, and watching tape of elite place-kickers for a couple of hours, while he talked me through their technique.

I’ve worked with some incredible kicking coaches over the years but we had never gone into anything like this level of precision. The scout and I talked about the placement of the plant foot, the angle at which we position ourselves to the ball to open up the sweet spot, and the various parts of the ball.

We went through film of six different NFL kickers in minute detail.

"

Carter added that the head of the Patriots' scouting programme wanted to see tape of the player six months later, after recovering from injury, but the All Black never sent the footage.

He bumped into Kraft again at last year's Oscars, and the owner hadn't forgotten.

"

He surprised me by not only remembering who I was, but asking whether I’d made that tape for his scouts.

I laughed it off, but I was flattered that he was still interested.

The idea was still floating in my mind a little.

"

Carter instead opted to sign a contract with Racing Metro in France and will likely end his playing career in the Top 14 rather than the National Football League.

The American public won't know what they are missing.

[Daily Telegraph]