THE Caveman cometh.

Tiny Sydney suburban club Balmain have landed a global coup by signing French rugby icon Sebastien Chabal to take on rivals Petersham next week.



The Daily Telegraph can reveal 'the Caveman' will make a one game cameo in second-division subbies - three levels below Sydney grade rugby - after recently quitting his Paris-based club Racing Metro.



Balmain's clash with Petersham is the 6pm curtain-raiser before the Waratahs-Reds at ANZ Stadium on February 25, and the flying locks of Chabal are sure to lure thousands through the gate early.



The appearance of the 62-Test cult figure in Balmain's black-and-gold jersey comes after Wallabies Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau both played for the small club last year.



"We had a spot in our international roster with Matt (Giteau) now playing in France. We looked for the biggest profile rugby player in the world and that's Chabal,'' Balmain club president Warren Livingstone said.



Chabal sent the rugby world into a frenzy yesterday after announcing on French TV he was "going to play in Australia'', with most assuming he meant Super Rugby or even NRL.

Instead, Chabal will spend next week in Sydney as the guest of Balmain on a week-long working holiday in the sun.

"We contacted them in December about him coming over to play some games in between when the French season finished and when the new one started. I sold him on seeing Australia in between the games,'' Livingstone said.

Chabal's recent departure from Racing Metro saw negotiations move towards a more immediate visit, and after a sleepless night for Livingstone on Monday, Chabal agreed via email to play for the Muzzled Wolves.

Steered by Livingstone - the man behind the massive Fanatics supporter tours business - the aspirational Balmain club was only re-born eight years ago but attracted sponsorship dollars many top clubs would envy. They've used the funds to sign up Test players for cameos, build a profile and become highly successful.

"We started from scratch and are making our way up through the divisions. It's just a local club, good blokes playing but every now and then we'll do something out of the box, just to give everyone a buzz,'' Livingstone said.

Given world rugby has few who look meaner than the Caveman, what about the poor old Petersham blokes?

"I think they'll really enjoy playing against him. When Drew and Gits played the other team were getting photos with them at the end of the game, and that's what it's all about. It is obviously good natured stuff,'' Livingstone said. "But I am not sure what they'll think when they read this. We're rivals anyway, we don't like them.''

It appears Chabal's visit will be brief, however, with no Australian Super Rugby clubs expressing interest in him to staying on for the season.

NSW and the Western Force already have marquee players, and while the Rebels, Reds and Brumbies do not, all said they're not in the market.

"He's certainly not on our radar,'' said Rebels recruitment head Josh Philpot said.

Reds coach Ewen McKenzie added: "He was the most expensive player in the French competition. We couldn't afford him.''

Follow @Telegraph_Sport on Twitter and like Telegraph Sport on Facebook

Originally published as The Caveman's coming to Sydney