Slade replaces Carter in All Blacks

The All Blacks called flyhalf Colin Slade into their squad for the Rugby Championship on Wednesday after Dan Carter was ruled out of the first two tests with a leg injury.

Carter fractured a bone during the Super Rugby final at the weekend and will be sidelined for four weeks, ruling him out of at least New Zealand's opener in Australia on Aug. 16 and the return match in Auckland a week later.

Slade, who has played 11 tests since his debut in 2010, joins Aaron Cruden and Beauden Barrett as the options to fill the All Blacks number 10 shirt against the Wallabies.

Cruden is mostly likely to start having led the backline in all three tests in the series sweep of England in June, when Carter was on sabbatical.

World champions New Zealand, who have won the first two Rugby Championship titles, will be aiming to set a new record for top tier nations with an 18th successive victory when they take on Australia at Sydney's Olympic Stadium next week.