The boss of Sonny Bill Williams' new French rugby union club has refused to acknowledge an Australian court order banning his star recruit from playing.
The runaway Canterbury Bulldogs star made his rugby union debut with Toulon in the south of France in defiance of a NSW Supreme Court injunction issued just hours earlier.
Club president Mourad Boujellal said neither Toulon nor Williams had been issued with any documents in relation to the injunction and there were no plans to comply with the ban.
"I would only recognise a French court and I only take my orders from the International Rugby Board and the French Rugby Federation," Boujellal told reporters.
"The only problem might have been if the Bulldogs had asked for a release letter.
"But there's been no release letter asked at all. If there is no request for an exit letter, there is no recognition of a former contract.
"He's signed his contract (with Toulon), he's played a game and he's with us."
Williams' debut got off to a shaky start, with his rugby league tackling style landing him in hot water during Toulon's 50-5 win over second tier team Carqueiranne-Hyeres in a pre-season friendly match.
The 23-year-old New Zealand international started the match on the left wing and got his first touch in the fifth minute of the game.
But the ex-league backrower was yellow-carded in the third quarter after he put one of his trademark shoulder charges - illegal in union - on an opponent.
After apologising to Laussucq Arnaud, who hit the ground heavily, Williams was marched for 10 minutes by the referee and did not return to the field for the rest of the match.
Following the game, the bemused Frenchman described the incident as feeling "like an electrocution".
Williams' arrival at the ground was shrouded in secrecy so he could avoid being personally served with the court injunction.
The court slapped the injunction on him on Friday and the Bulldogs had wanted to have it served on Williams before his debut match.
But club officials ensured Williams was shielded at all times, even organising for him to arrive in a private car instead of with his teammates on a bus.
His performance on the field impressed Toulon's fans, who packed the 3000-seat grandstand in Hyeres.
Among the crowd were boxer Anthony Mundine and Williams' agent Khoder Nasser, key supporters of his controversial decision to quit the Bulldogs well before the end of his five-year contract and move to France.
They and the rest of Toulon's supporters applauded and cheered Williams as he ran off the field.
Toulon fan Emanuelle Ferrier, 32, was thrilled to be one of the few lucky supporters to get Williams' autograph and photo at the match.
"He's a good guy," she said.
"He'll be very good for the team."
Meanwhile, disgraced former Wallaby scrum-half Matt Henjak enjoyed making his debut for Toulon after his sacking from Super 14 franchise Western Force.
Henjak, who left Australia after breaking former team-mate Haig Sare's jaw during a brawl, said he was still getting to grips with the French rugby style.
"One thing that did come out is that it's a lot more confrontational than Super 14 and they like to be in your face and I suppose they like the rough stuff a little bit more than at home," he told AAP.
Of his new teammate, Henjak said Williams had outstanding skills to bring to Toulon.
"He's a quality athlete and I'm sure he'll build on this performance and it won't take long before he's a superstar of this game as well," Henjak said.