Rugby World Cup Blog

You may or may not have known that arguably the biggest name in rugby made his debut for a new club over the weekend. After months of intense speculation, New Zealand international Dan Carter made his bow for French Top 14 club Perpignan.

The 26-year-old was heavily involved in the French club’s 26-20 Heineken Cup victory over Leicester on Sunday as he kicked 16 points to ensure a more than impressive debut performance.

Speaking after the match, Carter said that he was ‘very pleased’ with how the team worked together and that overall he had made a ‘great start’ to life at Perpignan. Considering his very high standards though, he was extremely ‘disappointed’ to miss two kicks during the match.

Nevertheless, Perpignan won the game and it has to be said that the ‘Carter factor’ played its part. Not only did he score over half of their points, but the mood inside the ground was different to normal. There was a great sense of anticipation inside the stadium and this created an electric atmosphere throughout, something that would have lifted the Perpignan players a great deal.

With the first match of his seven-month spell with the French club out of the way, it is interesting to note that Carter considered the standard to be ‘just as high’ as what he is used to in the Super 14. The only thing he believed to be different was the ‘wetter than normal’ conditions. This is something he will have to get used to though.

Then there is the language barrier, the change of culture and the different style of play in the French Top 14. He may have made a good start to life as a Perpignan player, but there are plenty of challenges to come. The league is well known for its aggressive nature and it has to be said that just about every loose forward will be looking forward to tackling the famous Dan Carter. It will be interesting to see how he deals with this.

As for where Perpignan are right now in terms of this season, well they are perfectly positioned for a Carter influenced assault on silverware. In the Heineken Cup they need two wins from their remaining two games to qualify with the crucial clash taking place against Ospreys in a few weeks time.

Then in the French Top 14, they sit 3rd – four points behind current leaders Toulouse. They have another home game this weekend though against Castres and victory here could well and truly kick start the Carter era. Then, the rugby odds may well back them to go on and win the league. That’s how huge the New Zealand man could prove to be for them.

Even though it works out at £30,000 per game for the fly-half, don’t be surprised if the French club end up getting there moneys worth because no matter what boundaries are in his way, Dan Cater is a world-class performer and that will come shining through anything else. Much like it did during his debut performance.

New Zealand star happy with debut

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about rugby betting