New Zealand centre Luke McAlister said on Friday that he was impatient to start life at his new club Toulouse next season.
If called up by New Zealand for the World Cup, McAlister will not report for club duty until after the tournament, which runs from September 9 to October 23.
However, if he is omitted from the hosts' line-up, he could be in line to make his Toulouse debut when the Top 14 season begins on August 27.
"It will be a new challenge for me," McAlister, who has signed a three-year contract at Toulouse, told France Bleu Toulouse radio from New Zealand.
The player, who represented English side Sale from 2007 to 2009, admitted he had "always been an admirer of the way France play rugby" and said he was looking forward to discovering French culture with his family.
"I don't want to come to Toulouse with too many expectations," added McAlister. "I don't want to be the guy who arrives from New Zealand and tells everyone what they have to do. It's not in my personality."
The 28-year-old said it would "not be the end of the world" if he was left out of New Zealand's World Cup squad, having participated at the previous tournament, in France in 2007, when the All Blacks notably beat Romania 85-8 in Toulouse.
"I've never really played at number 10 and they're looking for a replacement for Dan Carter," he said.
"I've played two matches in that position all year, so it's difficult for them [the New Zealand selectors] to choose a player who hasn't spent lots of time in this position."
AFP
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