New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player. He plays in the
fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16†...
(and occasionally inside centre) position for the provincial based
ITM Cup
ITM may stand for:
Education
* ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University
* ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India
* Institut Teknologi Mara, a public university in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
* Institute for Information, Tel ...
side
North Harbour North Harbour or North Harbor may refer to:
Canada
* North Harbour, St. Mary's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on St. Mary's Bay
* North Harbour, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on Placentia Bay
* North Harbour, ...
.
Playing career
Elrick made his provincial debut for
North Harbour North Harbour or North Harbor may refer to:
Canada
* North Harbour, St. Mary's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on St. Mary's Bay
* North Harbour, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on Placentia Bay
* North Harbour, ...
in 2005, and in 2006 was signed by Welsh club
Llandovery
Llandovery (; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 road, A40 and A483 road, A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and w ...
. Initially playing mainly at
first five-eighth
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16†...
Elrick reached 131 points in ten appearances he also showed to be very good kicker and this was shown in Wales when he scored all of the team's points in six matches. In 2007 Elrick had moved to
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
to feature in the
Bedford Blues
Bedford Blues are a semi-professional rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in the RFU Championship.
History
Foundation and 19th century
Bedford RUFC was founded in 1886 after an amalgamation between Bedford Rove ...
. The move came about because of Elrick's agent knew
Mike Rayer
Michael Anthony Rayer (born 21 July 1965) Scrum.com is a former
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
wasn't as good as he had hoped and he also was a second pick at fly half and wasn't getting enough playing time in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. He finished the season as the second highest individual points scorer with 144 points in 28 matches. Elrick left the team following their 2007/08 season. In 2008 Elrick returned to North Harbour and in 2009 he was linked with New Zealand club, Northland. He regularly played first-five eighth but again was a second pick in the position playing most of the season in the reserves.
In 2011 Elrick moved to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. He then returned to New Zealand for a second time to play for his home provincial union, North Harbour, in the opening game of the
2013 ITM Cup
The 2013 ITM Cup season was the eighth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on 15 August, when Counties Manukau (National Provincial Championship), Counties Man ...
.
Early life
Elrick come from a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
background with both his parents playing for
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. His dad
Adrian
Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water".
The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...
won 91 caps playing football for
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and starred in the
1982 World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in th ...
even grabbing Zico's top after the Kiwis played Brazil. His mum Nadine played more than 60 times for the New Zealand ladies' team. Even Elrick himself received a call-up for the under-17 World Cup squad, but it was rugby that finally came calling.
Elrick didn't actually start playing rugby until he was 14 or 15 years old. When he went to college he was playing
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby union: 15 players per side
*** American flag rugby
*** Beach rugby
*** Mini rugby
*** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side
*** Rugby tens, 10 players per side
*** Snow rugby
*** Tou ...
in the morning and football in the afternoon. He finally had to make a decision and he chose rugby. All of his mates played rugby and he enjoyed the training and social side a lot more. Elrick's Dad was pretty disappointed because he was in the under-17 football squad, but Elrick never looked back. At 23 years old Elrick had definitely fitted plenty into his rugby playing career. The number 10 played his rugby for Takapuna Tigers in New Zealand and the provincial rugby team North Harbour.