Before he slipped away from Welford Road on Saturday evening to start his new temporary life in France, Dan Carter acknowledged that Leicester will prove formidable opposition when he makes his debut for Perpignan next weekend in the return Heineken Cup fixture. “They look a pretty good outfit,” the New Zealand fly half said. “They will take some beating.”

Because of sponsorship commitments Carter could not feature against Leicester. He arrived late and left swiftly after watching the double European champions maintain their 100 per cent record in this season’s competition to stay at the top of pool three. He sat at the back of a stand and, having seen his new club lose – a result that effectively ended their interest in the Heineken Cup this season – Carter will have realised that he will earn every cent of his reported €1 million (about £860,000) contract over the next six months. “I am looking forward to it,” he said.

The most famous rugby player on the planet was not allowed to say much more, surrounded by an entourage led by Perry Freshwater, the New Zealand-born former England prop who plays for Perpignan.

While much of the pre-match hullabaloo focused on the All Black, by the end of proceedings it was the name of Julian White who was on the lips of most Leicester supporters and that of Heineke Meyer, the head coach. The South African admits that he is of the old school who appreciates the destructive powers of a tight-head prop and does not worry unduly about White’s contribution elsewhere.

In his first game for three weeks after a neck injury, White led a Leicester pack that bullied Perpignan and created the platform that the home team, prompted by Toby Flood at fly half, made the most of. One powerful scrum, in which Leicester drove the French forwards back ten metres, resulting in a try for Jordan Crane, was a purist’s delight.

“He has been unbelievable,” Meyer said of White, the 36-year-old prop, who walked out on England before last year’s World Cup for family and business reasons. “He is worth his weight in gold.

“Doc Craven, one of the most famous South African coaches, always said you pick your tight-head first and then the rest of the team. I think world rugby has moved away from that. I always believe it is the most important aspect of the game because it is the first real contact of the game. If you get a psychological advantage there, it goes through everything.”

Martin Johnson, the England team manager who has faced heavy criticism after a miserable autumn international series, will have noted White’s performance, and that of Lewis Moody, another stalwart who showed again that, when fit, he has few peers in creating havoc at the breakdown.

Flood, displaying calm authority, scored 23 points including the opening try when he jinked past Perpignan’s defence, as well as three conversions and four penalty goals. That said, Leicester were not perfect and should not have allowed the French side twice back into contention from 13-point deficits. Aaron Mauger and Matt Smith scored the other tries to secure a bonus point, while Perpignan kept in touch with scores by Maxime Mermoz and Ovidiu Tonita. They were also awarded a stoppage-time penalty try.

Injury-hit Perpignan had to field David Mele, their third-choice scrum half, at fly half and will be a different proposition with Carter playing and at home, but Meyer is unconcerned. “Dan Carter is a world-class player but the Premiership is full of the world’s best fly halves: Butch James, Nick Evans, Toby Flood,” he said. “It is not about one player. Sometimes that can work as a disadvantage because there is an expectation on him to win the game. I think it will work in our favour especially if they don’t start well.”

Scorers: Leicester: Tries: Flood (18min), Mauger (39), Crane (63), Smith (68). Conversions: Flood 3. Penalty goals: Flood 4 (3, 13, 43, 47). Perpignan: Tries: Mermoz (36), Tonita (51), penalty try. Conversions: Mele 3. Penalty goals: Mele 2 (24, 33). Scoring sequence (Leicester first): 3-0, 6-0, 13-0, 13-3, 13-6, 13-13, 20-13 (half-time), 23-13, 26-13, 26-20, 31-20, 38-20, 38-27.

Leicester: G Murphy; S Hamilton, D Hipkiss (sin-bin, 79), A Mauger, M Smith (rep: S Rabeni, 74); T Flood, J Dupuy; M Ayerza, B Kayser (rep: G Chuter, 56), J White (rep: D Cole, 69) M Corry (rep: M Wentzel 47), B Kay, T Croft, L Moody, J Crane (rep: L Deacon 71).

Perpignan: P Burger; A Plante, C Manas (rep: F Sid, 68), M Mermoz, J Candelon; D Mele, N Durand (rep: Sid, 41-44); S Chobet (rep: K Pulu, 44), G Guirado (rep: C Geli, 74), N Mas, R Alvarez Kairelis (rep: O Olibeau, 61), N Hines, O Tonita (rep: G Britz, 61), J-P Perez, D Chouly.

Referee: N Owens (Wales).

Attendance: 17,000.