The decision not to give Dan Carter his debut for his new Perpignan side against Leicester this weekend has sparked a heated debate among local rugby fans.
The game is crucial to Perpignan's hopes in Europe's Heineken Cup but the star first-five, who is on a six-month sabbaticalfrom the All Blacks, will not be on the field.
Following the All Blacks' 32-6 victory against England on Sunday (NZT), Carter travelled with several New Zealand teammates to Milan for a two-day promotional event before finally joining up with the Perpignan players in Leicester tomorrow.
Local newspaper l'Independant ran detailed arguments for and against the decision yesterday, prompting more than 50 comments from fans.
The paper said it could be argued it was a sensible to leave him out as, without training with his new team, it didn't matter how good he was, he would not gel.
But the other side of the debate was that Carter had said the Heineken Cup was a key reason for him signing for the club, so it made no sense for him to sit out what could be the decisive game for Perpignan in the tournament.
Fan Jean-Luc wrote that he couldn't see what all the fuss was about over a player who would only be at the club for half a year, however good he is. "I feel for the other 30 forgotten players," he said.
Riton picked up the same point but argued that as Carter is only at Perpignan for a short time the club should be making maximum use of him while he is there.
"Vrai Rugby" (True Rugby) took a more cynical approach to the whole situation, saying: "We should stop kidding ourselves, he's coming for the sun and the 70,000 euros a month."
All Blacks fans will just be hoping he comes back fit and match-ready next season.
