Jimmy Cowan has identified Australia’s Will Genia as a player in the mould of Daniel Carter.
Cowan has been recalled by New Zealand boss Graham Henry ahead of Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup Tri Nations clash with the Wallabies, and he has highlighted the man he will be in direct opposition with, Genia, as a real stronghold in the Australian side.
Genia now has 13 caps for the Aussies and will partner the shifted Matt Giteau against Cowan and company on Saturday. Cowan, who replaces Piri Weepu in the Kiwi fifteen for the Melbourne meeting, rates the Queensland Reds man highly and expects a real tough day out.
"Look at the two of us, we're totally different," he was quoted as saying by AAP.
"You've seen that through his captaincy in the Super 14. He was pretty sharp in that area.
"He reminds me a lot of Dan Carter when he plays - he's pretty cool, calm and collected when he's playing and you sort of see that in his game too."
Cowan also hailed Genia’s power of recovery as he shone on his side’s first Tri Nations game – last Saturday’s win over South Africa in which he scored a try – even after suffering a broken hand in the latter stages of the Super 14 season.
"It's a real testament to his character to come back and play like that, with intensity like that," added the All Black.
"He's just a tough little bugger too."