From Halfback to All Blacks Wing: Leroy Carter's Incredible Switch
After making the switch from halfback to wing with Bay of Plenty and the All Blacks Sevens, Leroy Carter is now scoring tries for the All Blacks against the Springboks and impressing team-mates who once knew him as a number nine.
Carter, who made his Test debut against the Springboks in 2025, spoke to Inside the Black Jersey about the switch that changed his career when injuries at Bay of Plenty forced his hand.
“We had a year at the Bay where a couple of injuries happened and I wasn't playing at the time. I think we had Juddy (Richard Judd) and Triple T (Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi) in front of me,” Carter said. “So then I just jumped on the wing, and then got a gig with the Sevens, and that's when the transition happened.”
The switch has come with its own learning curve.
“Probably the high balls,” Carter said of the hardest skill to master. “It's pretty tough, especially with no escorting anymore. Just another level that made it a little bit harder. Even the best in the world don't get it right sometimes, so that's a continual work-on for me.”
WATCH: Leroy Carter on his incredible switch from halfback to wing
His Sevens background, which included a Commonwealth Games bronze medal and a Paris 2024 Olympics campaign, has paid off in the physical grind of Test rugby. Carter scored in the corner during the second Test loss in Cape Town, sprinting 40 metres to dot down late in the game.
Pulling on the number 11 jersey still isn't lost on him.
“I debuted in the 11 jersey against the Springboks,” he said. “I remember reflecting a little bit on some boys that have worn that jersey before me. It's a special jersey, especially with that silver fern on the front.”
Co-host Brad Weber, who trained alongside Carter in the Chiefs halfbacks group before Carter's move to the wing, reflected on watching a raw talent take shape.
“We did a lot of halfback skills together, a lot of passing, a lot of kicking, and like he mentioned, it wasn't a real strength of his,” Weber said. “He was a young fella coming through, so there was a fair bit of work to do there. But you could see when he came in how explosive he was. He was super fast and got stuck into contact, so he was a little bit of a different nine in that regard. Who knows what he could have been if he'd stuck at nine. If he'd got his core skills to a level that would be world class, who knows, he could be challenging Cam Roigard in that regard. But man, great story. It's pretty cool.”
Carter and the All Blacks head into the deciding third Test of Rugby's Greatest Rivalry against the Springboks in Johannesburg this weekend, with the series locked at 1-1.
