Dan Carter's French sojourn hits red tape
By JENNI RUTHERFORD in London - RugbyHeaven | Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Dan Carter's French sojourn hits red tape - Rugby news & coverage - Stuff.co.nz

Dan Carter's keenly anticipated arrival at Perpignan at the end of the year has fallen foul of French bureaucracy, with the French press reporting that Perpignan are yet to be issued a playing licence for the All Blacks star.

The All Blacks first five packs his bags for France this week and will be presented to the fans at Aime-Giral Stadium and meet his team-mates this weekend.

He signed a lucrative six-month deal with the Catalans club, but Midi Olympique reported that the DNACG, the French League's financial watchdog, is still waiting on the monetary guarantees from the Top 14 club. The club has two months before Carter's scheduled debut to get the paperwork in order and satisfy the regulator.

Carter will hope that his short-term move to Europe will be incident-free and the All Blacks will be anxious that he returns fit and healthy. His No 2 Nick Evans, who was Harlequins' marquee signing of the summer, has been set back after just one competitive match for his new club and will sit out at least the next five weeks with ligament damage to his right knee.

Evans earned widespread praise for his impressive debut for the London club in their opening weekend victory against Saracens and was unfortunate to suffer an injury in the second half after a crunching tackle.

The former Blues utility back refuses to be downbeat after a mixed start to a new life in London and told the Independent on Sunday that he considers his All Blacks career over. Unlike Carter, who has been allowed by the NZRU to partake in the rugby and riches of the North before returning home, Evans has turned his back on the black jersey.

"They've opened a can of worms there mate," Evans said of the union's decision to allow Carter a sabbatical. "A lot of players want some of that. It wasn't for me. I've made a full commitment to my new club and I didn't want to have them worrying about me scuttling back to New Zealand."

On his injury, Evans said: "It's a long season, not like back in New Zealand. The injury could be a blessing in disguise. I'd rather it happened now than at the business-end of the season when a lot could be happening."