Olivier Elima

Olivier Elima (born 19 May 1983) is a French former professional rugby league footballer who was most recently head coach for the Palau Broncos in the French Elite One Championship. A France international representative forward, he played previously for the Catalans Dragons, Castleford Tigers, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and the Bradford Bulls.

Olivier Elima
Personal information
Born (1983-05-19) 19 May 1983
Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France
Playing information
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight101 kg (15 st 13 lb)[1]
PositionSecond-row, Prop, Loose forward
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2002 Castleford Tigers 1 1 0 0 4
2003–07 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 87 13 0 0 52
2008–10 Catalans Dragons 73 34 0 0 136
2011–12 Bradford Bulls 43 13 0 0 52
2013–16 Catalans Dragons 61 4 0 0 16
2016–16 Palau XIII Broncos 14 0 0 0 0
Total 279 65 0 0 260
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–13 France 28 8 0 0 32
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2017–20 Palau XIII Broncos
Source: [2][3][4]

Background

Elima was born in Nantes, France.

Playing career

Olivier Elima has previously played in the centre during the earlier part of his career. The French forward had an excellent season with the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in 2006. Elima plays in the second-row, he has also featured at prop, and loose forward.

Elima was named in the France training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[5]

He had been named in the France squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[6]

Elima captained France in the 2009 Four Nations tournament, scoring his team's only try in their match against Australia.

Elima captained France in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup Tournament.

Bradford Bulls

Elima confirmed his switch to Bradford Bulls and signed a 2-year contract with the club in September 2010. Statistics do NOT include pre-season friendlies.

2011 – 2011 Season

Olivier appeared in two of the three pre-season games. He played against Dewsbury Rams and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. He scored a try against Wakefield.

Elima featured in eight consecutive games from Round 1 (Leeds Rhinos) until Round 8 (Harlequins RL). He then appeared in Round 10 (Salford City Reds) to Round 13 (Warrington Wolves). Elima then featured in thirteen consecutive games from Round 15 (Salford City Reds) to Round 27 (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats). He also appeared in the Challenge Cup game against Wigan Warriors. Elima has scored against Castleford Tigers (1 try), Harlequins RL (1 try), Leeds Rhinos (4 tries), Catalans Dragons (1 try) and Crusaders (2 tries).

2012 – 2012 Season

Olivier missed the all the pre-season games due to a knee injury.

Elima missed Rounds 1–6 due to an injury. He returned in round 7 to face St. Helens. He was suspended for Round 8. He featured in eleven consecutive games from Round 9 (Hull F.C.) to Round 19 (Wigan Warriors). Elima also featured in Round 21 (Leeds Rhinos). He was injured for Rounds 22–25. Elima featured in Round 26 (Hull F.C.) and Round 27 (Catalans Dragons). He also featured in the Challenge Cup against Doncaster and Warrington Wolves. He scored against Warrington Wolves (1 try), Castleford Tigers (1 try), Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (1 try) and Leeds Rhinos (1 try). It was announced that Elima had signed a 2-year deal with former club Catalans Dragons.

(For 2014 Super League season highlights, stats and results click on 2014 Super League season results)

Statistics
SeasonAppearanceTriesGoalsF/GPoints
2011 Bradford Bulls2690036
2012 Bradford Bulls1740016
2013 Catalans Dragons1530012
2014 Catalans Dragons121004
Total70170068

Coaching career

Palau XIII Broncos

He was appointed coach of Palau Broncos in 2017.
On 23 Dec 2020 it was reported that he had been sacked by Palau XIII Broncos after their poor start to the Elite One Championship season[7]

References
  1. "Catalans Dragons Equipe Saison 2015". Catalans Dragons site officiel. Catalans Dragons S.A.S.P. 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  2. loverugbyleague
  3. Rugby League Project
  4. itsrugby
  5. "France dominated by Dragons". Sky Sports. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  6. "France name official squad". RLWC2008. 24 September 2008. Archived from the original on 30 September 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
  7. "Olivier Elima is no longer Palau's coach". Trieze Mondial.fr. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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