The veteran Otago hooker spent two years plying his trade for Lyon and carefully avoiding a shave.
His trademark red beard survived the trip and so did his passion for the game. And it shows.
The 34-year-old has produced some quality performances for Otago during the first four rounds of the NPC.
The former All Black has been named to start in the derby match against Canterbury in Dunedin today.
"I love the rugby over there", Coltman said.
"Definitely gave me a refresh on the old passion.
"It's awesome turning up and there are 17,000 people in the stand to watch a home game. It's like that anywhere you go.
"The crowds are chocker and chanting. There's flares going off, there's all sorts of going on. It's just an awesome atmosphere. And then the physicality of their game is at another level, to be honest.
"It's probably faster here. But I think it's a great standard over there, and it sort of shows in the way the northern hemisphere has been stepping up to the plate on the world stage as well."
While the atmosphere and crowds were great, there was a notable absence.
Coltman’s father, Tom, loves watching his son play so much he would drive all the way from Oakura, near New Plymouth, to Dunedin to watch him when Coltman played for the Highlanders.
The round trip took 16 hours and he never missed a game.
Tom did not get to France to see his son play, though.
"No, no, he didn't make the trip over there. There's no roads to France", Coltman said, chuckling.
Tom is still a regular on the sideline yelling out support for his son.
Coltman is the third most capped Highlander. He clocked 129 games before he left for France.
Now that he is back the question is, would he like to crack 130? He is still playing great rugby and would be an asset for any Super Rugby team.
"At the moment, I'm unsure [where I’ll play next]. I'm just working through that with my agent.
"There's stuff on the cards, but I've just got to work through a bit of the process at the moment.
"I'm not sure about Super, though. I think most of the hooking positions are all taken up, so I might be looking at something else, but it is what it is."
Right now the focus is on doing well for Otago and passing on his knowledge to the crop of young front-rowers in the side.
Coltman has been particularly impressed with the work prop Saula Ma’u has been doing.
"Saula in on a whole other level at the moment. I mean, his physicality around the park and at scrum time has been awesome, and he's been a big part of it.
"All the boys are starting to see what we're capable of, so that confidence just keeps building."
That confidence comes from a couple of upset wins against Auckland and Bay of Plenty and a gutsy 22-18 loss to the defending champions Taranaki.
A win against Canterbury today would provide another boost.
— Bay of Plenty beat Manawatu 68-14 in last night’s game in Rotorua.
NPC
Dunedin, 4.35pm
Otago: Finn Hurley, Josh Whaanga, Hudson Creighton, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Jona Nareki, Cameron Millar, James Arscott, Christian Lio-Willie (captain), Harry Taylor, Oliver Haig, Fabian Holland, Sam Fischli, Saula Ma’u, Liam Coltman, Ben Lopas. Reserves: Henry Bell, Abraham Pole, Rohan Wingham, Will Stodart, Will Tucker, Nathan Hastie, Kyan Rangitutia, Josh Timu.
Canterbury: Isaac Hutchinson, Chay Fihaki, Dallas McLeod, Jone Rova, Ngatungane Punivai, James White, Tyson Belworthy, Torian Barnes, Billy Harmon (captian), Cullen Grace, Zach Gallagher, Jamie Hannah, Joe Moody, Ben Funnell, Finlay Brewis. Reserves: Brodie McAlister, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Gus Brown, Liam Jack, Tom Christie, Nic Shearer, Shun Miyake, Ryan Crotty.
