THE presence of Dan Carter in France this week aroused great interest, but no-one is more excited about his move to Perpignan than Scottish scrum-half Chris Cusiter.
The 26-year-old has made the No 9 jersey his own at the French club, starting the first four games before injury struck against Bayonne and he missed out last week. Today, he starts on the bench at Toulouse as France cap Nicolas Durand strives to win
back some attention from the coaches, but if their high degree of competition was not enough motivation the fact that the All Black stand-off, rated by many as currently the world's best player, will join them in December is pretty compelling.
"He was here this week for four days and I think he was pretty overwhelmed by the reaction he got," said Cusiter. "I was at Scotland training at Murrayfield on Monday, but reports said there was anything between 2,000 and 5,000 in the stadium just to see him being introduced.
"I met him on Tuesday and he's quite a shy, humble guy – we spoke more about where he'll live when he gets here and what the area's like than rugby. But I'm looking forward to it. It's great for the club and obviously it's exciting for a scrum-half to have a stand-off of that quality playing beside you.
"I don't know how much he'll help me to be honest because I think the pressure will be greater than ever to make sure the passes are spot-on and he can control the game the way he likes to. He is a fantastic player and I remember the way he ran things for New Zealand against the British and Irish Lions in 2005, and when they beat us at Murrayfield in the World Cup last year. He has all the skills. So, I'm looking forward to playing with him, but I know he'll expect perfect service from me and Nicolas."
Cusiter was pleased to be back in Edinburgh at the start of the week, however, having played a minor role in international rugby over the past year while Mike Blair's star continues to rise and Gloucester's Rory Lawson pushes hard for the deputy role. Perpignan would not have released Cusiter to Scotland's Argentina tour, but Frank Hadden, the Scotland coach, did not want him in any case and Cusiter knows he has work ahead to regain Scotland's No 9 jersey.
The fact he is playing in France, he acknowledges, does not help in a week in which the SRU complained to the IRB over English clubs failing to release ten players to the Scotland squad session. He and Nathan Hines both have their work cut out to make Hadden's squad for the opening autumn Test against their new teammate and his fellow All Blacks. Further complicating matters, Hines will only have a game under his belt before Scotland play New Zealand if his club fail to appeal a 30-day ban handed down on Thursday for an alleged stamp in a recent league match.
Cusiter said: "Nathan's ban was ridiculous – the ref only gave a penalty in the game, and then last week the Toulon scrum-half punches an opponent twice and gets 20 days.
"I know Frank Hadden is wanting the players two weeks before the first Test with New Zealand, but whether we get released then or, like the guys in England, have to wait until five days before remains to be seen."
It was the SRU's decision to close the Borders that forced Cusiter to leave, but the scrum-half admits he would not return now even if there was a space.
"I have to say I've got no regrets about leaving. I always wanted to try rugby in France. It came a bit earlier than expected, but it has been fantastic for me. Everything is different out here – the atmosphere, the stadiums, the colour, the excitement of the fans – and I have definitely improved as a player.
"I know it's not great for my Scotland career, and I can't even begin to think about the Lions next year.
But I'm not upset. I've started the season well, the team is second in the Top 14 and we have the world's best player coming here, so I'm pretty happy really."
The full article contains 738 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
