World Player of the Year Dan Carter: Johnny Watterson talks to four former Ireland outhalves about the phenomenon that is All Black Dan Carter

Dan Carter's elevation has not taken long. The All Black outhalf officially became the best player in the world two days ago at the age of 23 when the International Rugby Board joined the rest of the game's fraternity and swooned in Paris before voting him their player of the year. Ahead of Richie McCaw. Ahead of Bryan Habana.

Carter's footprint on matches within a strong New Zealand team has given him a platform from which he has played a number of outstanding Tests, the second against the Lions last summer coming as close to perfection as any number 10 will come,

That, at least, is what former Irish outhalf Ollie Campbell believes. Campbell qualifies his deep appreciation of Carter, citing a relatively poor Test against South Africa in Capetown, where some human frailties were exposed. But like many others he is misty eyed. Six years ago Campbell received an email from a former Suttonians and Old Belvedere coach, Stephen Dodds. It was a brief message. "Dan Carter remember the name," it said. Carter was 17 years old at the time and making waves.

"One of the real qualities that is indefinable is that he seems to have so much time. It seems sometimes that he is playing in slow motion," says Campbell. "He plays with the same ease and grace of Barry John. There is not another player in the world who has the skills in the abundance that he has them, running, passing, kicking.

"In addition, and I don't know him and have never met him, he also seems to be blessed with a brilliant temperament. I would say his second Test against the Lions was as perfect a display as I've ever seen from an outhalf in my time."

Campbell's praise is echoed by Ralph Keyes. The Munster and Ireland number 10 is also smitten by Carter's ability to warp time on the ball as he jinks toward a heavily guarded gain line. His lack of any apparent handicap adds to the almost bulletproof image.

"He appears to have the complete game," says Keyes. "And he doesn't appear to have any major weaknesses. Certainly in the last 12 months he has matured. A strong defence, great kicking and cool under pressure. He also seems to have time on the ball.

"Sure, it's always nice to have the platform of a strong pack and great backs outside. But when you are getting 80 per cent of the ball it is sometimes very difficult to do the right thing all the time. There is a higher margin of error. So it makes him even more phenomenal in that he can do the right thing almost all of the time while receiving such a high percentage of ball."

Another question asked by Lansdowne and Ireland outhalf Mick Quinn is how Carter would perform in a team where he didn't have the same protection. Given the current strength of the All Blacks, the answer may not become apparent for some time.

"I saw the second Test and he's a class act," says Quinn. "I thought Jonny Wilkinson was the complete package but this guy has pace as well. We haven't seen too much of his defence because he hasn't had to. Presumably he can. The performance against the Lions in Wellington, which I was at, was the best performance I've ever seen by an outhalf. Everything he touched turned to gold.

"He's a very special player. People bandy around the word great too easily. Mike Gibson was great and this guy is up there. But does he have the longevity, the ability to stay up there and do it for a long time? His proving ground, at the end of the day, will be the World Cup and whether he can help to bring that home for New Zealand."

With 15 points against Fiji in 2005, Carter moved into fourth spot on the All Blacks all-time points-scoring list, while the 21 points he scored against England in 2004 equals the most by an All Black against that opponent. If notches in his career post are any indication, Carter is flawless.

"Baring injury, he's already close to being the best All Black first five eighth of all time," adds Campbell. "And he is on his way to being one of the best outhalves of all time."

Ollie Campbell

'He did actually show that he was human against South Africa in the Tri-Nations in the match New Zealand lost. In that sense there's hope for everybody else. But I would say that his second Test against the Lions last summer was as perfect a display as I've ever seen from any outhalf in my time. He plays with the same ease and grace as Barry John. That's high praise.'

Paul Dean

'He's the polished article and he doesn't labour in what he does. He's the best at the moment. I don't want to begrudge him but he's playing in front of the best pack I've seen in years. All you need is a ball one second quicker, then you have 10 yards. But he does utilise the ball quickly and efficiently, which looks like he has plenty of time.'

Mick Quinn

'It's terribly important that a team's nine and 10 want to have a cut. That's an area where New Zealand are strong. Their opposition have to watch everybody. He's a class act and he's playing with a team that is better than most, a nine who breaks and a pack that dominates. He is able to distribute the ball while up close to the gain line so his outside backs are protected. With the Irish team would he be as effective?'

Ralph Keyes

'What makes him special is that he appears to have a complete game. He also does not appear to have any major weaknesses and certainly over the last 12 months he has matured. He has a strong defence, great kicking ability and he's cool under pressure. Another side to his game is that he also seems to have time for himself when he's on the ball, which is always the sign of a good player.'