New Biarritz attack coach Barry Maddocks said on Wednesday he is looking forward to working alongside former Australia centre Tevita Kuridrani ahead of the new French Top 14 season starting this weekend.
Kuridrani, 30, joined the Basque outfit this summer for their return to French rugby's top flight, at the same time as Welshman Maddocks.
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"With his Australian and Fijian background he's very humble. He's a fantastic player, physically a very able player and brilliant to have on board," Maddocks told AFP.
"It's been a great experience to be able to help, support and coach somebody of his ability over the last month."
The five-time French champions secured their first promotion since relegation in 2014 by beating local rivals Bayonne in a play-off thanks to captain Steffon Armitage's penalty in a dramatic shoot-out.
"I didn't watch the game but I was being updated as the game was going on. I was a bit nervous with everything going on," Maddocks said.
"I had a few messages to say at full-time it was a draw, then at the end of extra-time it was a draw and then the next ones were it was going to be a penalty shootout and the next one was 'We've actually won it with Steffon's kick'.
"It was exciting stuff, especially for the people of the town because it's got such a big history. It's brilliant for us to go back up to the top flight."
The move to Parc des Sports d'Aguilera is Maddocks' first position outside of Britain after a spell at the Dragons, a role at Bath's academy as well as coaching England Sevens.
"It's been a bit of an eye-opener to be honest. I maybe came with a perception but I've been overwhelmed by the level of intensity of the boys," he said.
"I thought it would be a biased one-type of game but in fairness there's enough ability to be able to play both types of games."
- 'Long-haul' -
This Saturday, Maddocks' side host Bordeaux-Begles, who will have France's Matthieu Jalibert at fly-half.
The teams met in a pre-season fixture in Lille, with Biarritz reportedly interested in moving the club to the northern town after a dispute with local government on the south-west coast.
Biarritz have the league's lowest budget at 13 million euros ($15.4 million) but have also added former Force scrum-half Tomas Cubelli and ex-New Zealand back-rower Elliot Dixon to their squad during the close-season.
"Bordeaux-Begles are a team who have the ability to play the physical power type of game and when they need to, with Jalibert, they can open up the game," Maddocks said.
"It's a tough, difficult league, a long-haul competition. You've got to keep on going, that's the big thing. To stay up is the ultimate aim."
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