He's been at the centre of rumoured rifts in the Northampton Saints team - after a series of clashes with now-retired England hooker Steve Thompson - but former All Black first five-eighths Carlos Spencer has greatly relieved fans by being available for the Heineken Cup semifinal against Waspstonight.
Spencer has made a faster-than-expected recovery from an ankle injury, to the relief of coach Paul Grayson.
Spencer's time at the club has entered a rough patch - he is thought to be likely to leave Northampton if, as expected, the club is relegated from England's premiership this season.
Revelations from a local Northampton newspaper last week highlighted the stand-off between Thompson and Spencer, among others.
The rift appears to be an extension of the public spat between the English members of the Saints squad and the foreign stars that first emerged during the tenure of former coach Alan Solomons.
Thompson last week delivered an attack on the stars, who he said were destroying team harmony and not fighting for the club.
"The bottom line is that we did away with our academy a few seasons back and started signing a number of so-called big-name foreign stars," said Thompson.
"As soon as you sign players who think they're bigger than the club, you've got problems... They never really bought into the club ethos."
The Northampton Chronicle and Echo published Spencer's response and that of halfback and fellow New Zealander Mark Robinson.
Spencer insisted he would not do as Justin Marshall did and flee if the Saints were relegated from the premiership.
He also accused Thompson of having a chip on his shoulder, while Robinson said now was not the time to be firing barbs at each other within the camp.
"People who have been a part of the team... should be supporting the team and supporting the players."
