Dan Carter backs Jonny Wilkinson to make England return

Dan Carter has backed Jonny Wilkinson to return to England's Test side but admitted that he will be upset if he fails to overtake the Toulon fly-half as the leading points scorer in the history of international rugby. The New Zealand outside-half, who has recovered from an ankle injury to face Wales on Saturday, is two points behind Wilkinson's haul of 1,178 and he believes that the international obituaries that have been written about him following Martin Johnson's side's resurrection this year have been grossly premature. "Jonny still has an international future," said Carter. "To surpass him as the leading points scorer would be a great achievement, but he still has many more Test games in him. He is a quality player and come pressure situations like World Cups he is so valuable. He still has more matches to play and more points to score. "The three points I need will probably weigh on my mind on Saturday, but I have to put the team first. The grand slam is far more important than any record. If we score four tries, I miss my kicks and we win the game I will be happy. Actually, I will be a little bit cheesed off. I am not a big one for records but I think this one is something very special. If I do get it, it is something I will be very proud of." Carter has not trained this week after suffering a recurrence of an ankle injury but said he would be taking part in this afternoon's session. New Zealand have made five changes from the side that defeated Ireland last weekend for the match with Wales as they chase a victory that would give them a third grand slam against the home unions in five years. Sonny Bill Williams is chosen ahead of Ma'a Nonu in the centre, Isaia Toeava displaces Cory Jane on the wing, the hooker Keven Mealamu returns from suspension, Brad Thorn is fit again in the second row for his 50th cap and Jimmy Cowan resumes at scrum-half. "We have picked the team on form," said the New Zealand coach, Graham Henry. "There were some tough calls, such as leaving out Ma'a who has been an established member of the side for some time, but we felt Sonny Bill was playing that little bit better. "At the start of the tour, Cory and Joe Rokocoko were our first-choice wings, but Isaia and Hosea Gear have taken their chances. It is all about finishing the tour on a high, smashing Wales and achieving the grand slam. "It will not be easy. Wales are a good side on paper with four of the Lions' front five in South Africa last year and both the half-backs. I guess they are most vulnerable when they are expected to win, as was the case against Fiji last week, but I expect them to play exceptionally well against us. We want to make a statement before returning home, but we are not getting ahead of ourselves." New Zealand will finish the year, regardless of Saturday's result, comfortably at the top of the world rankings, as was the case before the last World Cup in 2006 only for them to be knocked out in the quarter-finals. "We still have a lot of improving to do and fine-tuning to our game," said Carter. "We are happy with where we are at currently but we can become a more complete side. When you are at the top, teams do analyse you a lot better and we noticed in the Tri-Nations that the more we played teams, the harder it got and we have to find means of being able to adjust and change things. "The World Cup is something that is completely different from anything else. You can be the form side going into it but it does not count for a lot in a unique tournament. It is all about winning and finding the style of play to enable you to do so." A minute's silence will be held before the match as a mark of respect to the 29 miners who lost their lives in the Pike River mining tragedy on the west coast of New Zealand. The All Blacks will wear white armbands on their sleeves. "We share in the mourning of the whole country and, in our own small way, we wanted to pay our respects to the miners," said the New Zealand captain, Richie McCaw.