I almost retired before Rugby World Cup

New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter has revealed he came close to retiring before the Rugby World Cup.

Carter was forced to watch from the sidelines when the All Blacks triumphed on home soil in the 2011 edition of the tournament.

But after recovering from a broken leg sustained during the 2014 Super Rugby final which threatened to rule him out of this year's World Cup, the 33-year-old kicked 19 points in a man-of-the-match display as New Zealand beat Australia 34-17 in the final at Twickenham.

However, Carter, who has now retired from international rugby, admitted he was close to ending his career before the tournament in England due to his injury problems.

"Two weeks before I was scheduled to make my first Test match appearance back with the All Blacks [following a six-month sabbatical], I broke my leg," the Racing 92 star wrote on The Players' Tribune.

"By that point, we were 15 months away from the Rugby World Cup and it was clear that I was at a place where I had neither the health or [sic] the form to be part of it.

"For the first time in my life, I began to question my love for this sport. I questioned whether my body could handle it anymore.

"So I spent a lot of time that summer pondering my future and what was next. I was fortunate to have a wife who played hockey for New Zealand, and had a deep understanding of my personal feelings as well the psychology of sports.

"If it wasn't for her and my love for the All Black jersey, I'd probably have long since hung up my cleats.

"After going back and forth on it for a few weeks, I made the decision to announce that I would end my career with the All Blacks after the 2015 World Cup.

"I committed to that before I even knew if I was going to make the World Cup roster. Based on my previous two years, I definitely didn't deserve to make the team.

"The past couple of years have felt like an intense journey. It began with a lot of doubts as to whether I could still play this game, and it ended in a better place than I could have ever imagined."