All the best, Carlos

It seems churlish to let Carlos Spencer leave New Zealand without at least thanking him for the enormous enjoyment he's given me and I'm sure many others over the years. Say what you like about him - and most people have, especially those in a certain city some miles south of here - when Carlos was on the field life was never dull.

I can't say the same for Northampton I'm afraid - the only British county to be deservedly excluded from most tourist guidebooks - but I feel sure he'll soon be lighting up Franklin Gardens, and infuriating and inspiring English fans just as he has done New Zealand fans. Most of them.

Trust him not to leave quietly either. Asked by the Herald what he would miss most after 14 first-class rugby seasons in New Zealand, he said, "Going down there and pissing off those Canterbury crowds."