We left Eliott in the middle of discovering New Zealand rugby, struck by the high tackles and the tempo imposed by the local referees. The prop-cum-bartender from La Baule had promised that “the hardest part was still to come”. Evidently, not on this opening round of the league season.


Upper Clutha thrashed Te Anau 65-0, in a match stopped on the hour for want of opposition replacements. It has to be said that Te Anau, the last town before the fjords, struggles to field fifteen bodies. Eliott, for his part, did the job in the scrum and at the breakdown for a collective festival of tries. “Mobility, plenty of volume, some pace, I liked it”, he sums up.

“Down Under” – Episode 2: From pulling pints at the bar to pushing in the scrum, Eliott has launched his New Zealand season
Post“Down Under” – Episode 2: From pulling pints at the bar to pushing in the scrum, Eliott has launched his New Zealand season
We left Eliott, the RC Baulois prop, finding his bearings in the postcard setting of Wanaka. A few weeks later, the bartender at Charlie's Corner has swapped the apron for the Upper Clutha jersey. Between chest-high tackles and a relentless tempo, the story of his first steps on New Zealand grass.
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To win without peril is to triumph all the same. And the Charlie’s Corner prop has good reason to smile: he should indeed play the whole first half of the season, as planned. On the shores of Lake Wanaka, the southern summer is drawing to a close and the snow will soon give the matches a different texture. But that is for the next episodes.