Dan Carter kicked 16 points on debut to steer Perpignan to a 26-20 Heineken Cup Pool 3 victory over Leicester Tigers at Stade Aime Giral.

The All Blacks fly-half succeeded with six kicks from eight attempts, including converting both of Perpignan's tries, to inflict a first European defeat of the campaign on the visitors. Tom Croft and Scott Hamilton sparked Leicester's hopes of upsetting the welcome party for Carter with tries either side of half-time, but a losing bonus point was enough to keep the Tigers level with Pool Three leaders Ospreys.

Carter started his seven-month stay in the south of France under immense pressure to live up to the hype and took just 11 minutes to start repaying his new employers with a penalty to cancel out one from opposite number Toby Flood. Just three minutes later Carter stepped up again, this time to stoke over the conversion after playing a part in the game's opening try from Gerrie Britz.

Nicolas Durand weaved his way past four defenders to launch an attack from inside his own half, Carter kept the move alive along with Julien Candelon before flanker Britz shrugged of Geordan Murphy to canter over. Carter then added a penalty following Scott Hamilton's high tackle that left Adrien Plante in need of attention.

Matt Smith's legitimate challenge on Plante 10 minutes later prevented a second Perpignan try, but referee Allan Lewis brought back play for a penalty that Carter dispatched with ease. Leicester were struggling for a foothold in the game, trailing 16-3 after 35 minutes, but were handed a route back before half-time by Croft.

Ben Kayser made the initial burst, scrum-half Julien Dupuy switched direction to the blindside where Ben Kay and Jordan Crane combined to send Croft over. Flood reduced the deficit to 16-10 with the conversion and so it remained as Carter stunned the home crowd by missing two penalties in a row either side of half-time.

However, within a minute it was the poor kicking of Dupuy that hurt Leicester when Perpignan scored after the scrum-half's kick was blocked. Damien Chouly charged down the clearance within yards of the line, the bounce evaded Flood and Britz grabbed his second from close range.

Carter's conversion handed Perpignan their biggest lead of the day at 23-10 just seven minutes into the second half, but that sparked an impressive response from Leicester. Flood landed a second penalty on 55 minutes and after Candelon saw his try ruled out for a forward pass, Leicester made their passes stick to send Hamilton crashing over.

Flood's conversion brought the visitors to within a score at 23-20, though replacement Harry Ellis was fortunate to escape punishment after up-ending Carter off the ball. The New Zealander picked himself up to land his fourth penalty after Crane held onto possession too long to seal Perpignan's victory.

Dan Carter hailed his European debut as a "great start" saying, "I'm pleased with how the game went and to beat a team of Leicester's quality in my first game was great. I felt extra pressure on me today, it was like my first day at school so I'm glad to have got the first game out of the way."

"The supporters were fantastic and I'm only pleased that I was playing for Perpignan and not Leicester. I'm pleased the way the game went. I thought our defence worked well most of the game though we're disappointed that Leicester were able to cut our lines a few times.

"I was very pleased that our combinations worked well after just one week together to prepare. It was satisfying that things worked well, though I was disappointed to miss two kicks. I'm just grateful that they were not crucial to the result of the game. To have come and beat a team of the quality of Leicester in my first game in Europe was a great start.

"The game was very similar to what I am used to in Super14. The standard was just as high, I thought the conditions were much wetter than normal for me so it was pretty slippery out there."

Carter was fortunate to escape injury after being up-ended by England scrum-half Harry Ellis late on. "I wasn't injured at all, but it was a bit scary when you find yourself in that position and you have no control over how you're going to land. I was relieved not to be injured."

Leicester centre Dan Hipkiss said: "It was a very close game and there were a couple of decisions here and fumbles there which could easily have made the difference. It would have been easy for us to role over in this game and let Perpignan score four tries. But we're not too far away from getting the results in Europe and we came away with a narrow defeat and a bonus point. These are the games you learn from, especially for the younger players. It was a great experience for all of us."

Perpignan: P Burger, A Plante (J Porical 72), C Manas (J Grandclaude 54), M Mermoz, J Candelon, D Carter, N Durand, S Chobet (K Pulu 60), G Guirado, N Mas, O Olibeau (R Alvarez Kairelis 54), N Hines, G Britz (J Perez 67), O Tonita (C Geli 71), D Chouly

Leicester Tigers: G Murphy, S Hamilton, D Hipkiss (S Rabeni 67), A Mauger, M Smith, T Flood, J Dupuy (H Ellis 68), M Ayerza (D Cole 56), B Kayser (G Chuter 57), J White, M Corry [capt], B Kay (M Wentzel 59), T Croft, L Moody, J Crane

Man of the Match: Dan Carter (Perpignan)

Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)

Attendance: 14,466