DAN CARTER WILL make his Racing 92 debut tomorrow’s in the club’s Champions Cup meeting with Northampton (KO 3.15pm Irish time, BT Sport).
In the 10 jersey for the Saints will be former Munster out-half JJ Hanrahan.
33-year-old New Zealand legend Carter joined the French club following this year’s World Cup and after a brief settling-in period will be thrown into the action in this crucial Pool 3 tie at Stade Yves-du-Manoir.
Carter will be partnered by Mike Phillips in the halfbacks, with the Welshman having recently announced his retirement from Test rugby at the age of 33.
A strong Racing selection sees former Munster centre Casey Laulala start at outside centre and former All Blacks wing Joe Rokocoko join Brice Dulin and Juan Imhoff in the back three.
It’s Carter’s first appearance in European rugby that will attract most interest, however, with the Kiwi having shown at the World Cup that he remains one of the finest players on the planet.
Ireland out-half Johnny Sexton understandably met with high expectations upon his arrival in Paris in 2013, failing to totally win over the fans during his two-year spell, but the weight of hype around Carter is been even greater.
With his contract at Racing believed to be worth close to €1 million per season, with commercial gains and bonuses taken into account, club president Jacky Lorenzetti will be expecting a positive return on the pitch.
Meanwhile, Northampton have retained Hanrahan in the out-half position after he nailed a match-winning penalty in the Premiership victory against Bath last weekend.
The Kerryman had started the season behind Stephen Myler at 10, but his recent form has seen him push past the previous incumbent and he starts this huge European contest.
Hanrahan has previously stated his desire to play for Ireland at senior level and standing out in a game of this magnitude would clearly further his standing in Joe Schmidt’s eyes.
While Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht all have important games this weekend in Europe, the goings on at Stade Yves-du-Manoir are also of major interest.
Racing 92:
15. Brice Dulin
14. Joe Rokocoko
13. Casey Laulala
12. Henry Chavancy
11. Juan Imhoff
10. Dan Carter
9. Mike Phillips
1. Eddy Ben Arous
2. Dimitri Szarzewski (captain)
3. Ben Tameifuna
4. Luke Charteris
5. Francois van der Merwe
6. Wenceslas Lauret
7. Yannick Nyanga
8. Chris Masoe
Replacements:
16. Camille Chat
17. Julian Brugnaut
18. Cedate Gomes Sa
19. Manuel Carizza
20. Antonie Claassen
21. Johan Goosen
22. Alexandre Dumoulin
23. Maxime Machenaud
Northampton:
15. Ben Foden
14. Jamie Elliott
13. Luther Burrell
12. Tom Stephenson
11. George North
10. JJ Hanrahan
9. Lee Dickson (captain)
1. Alex Waller
2. Mikey Haywood
3. Kieran Brookes
4. Michael Paterson
5. Victor Matfield
6. Courtney Lawes
7. Teimana Harrison
8. Sam Dickinson
Replacements:
16. Matt Williams
17. Ethan Waller
18. Paul Hill
19. Christian Day
20. Jamie Gibson
21. Kahn Fotuali’i
22. Stephen Myler
23. Ahsee Tuala
