International arrest warrant issued for ex-Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom

French authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for the former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom.

Elsom has been found guilty in his absence of forgery, use of forgery and misuse of corporate assets and sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Narbonne.

Rocky Elsom trains with the Wallabies in 2009.Credit: Steve Christo

The 41-year-old was president of the French club Narbonne for three years until 2016 before being removed from his role and leaving behind what French newspaper Midi Olympique has described as a “catastrophic financial situation”.

Elsom is accused of embezzling about €700,000 ($1.13 million) before exiting the club, which was relegated to the third division of French rugby two years later.

Elsom originally arrived as a player in 2014 before joining the club’s supervisory board. He was appointed president in October 2015.

Narbonne had been one of the major names in French rugby and were champions in 1979, but they have endured financial difficulties in the professional era.

In 2011, the club was bought by an Australian investment fund, FGM, which involved World Cup-winning coach Bob Dwyer and former Waratahs general manager David Gibson. Neither Dwyer nor Gibson is accused of any wrongdoing. Dwyer did not respond to calls for comment.

Rocky Elsom played 75 games for the Wallabies.Credit: Getty

Speaking to SBS in 2014, Elsom, who was named as one of the main shareholders of FGM, said: “We needed to make savings on 17 contracts. We had to recruit a large number of unknown players. I was not the most popular person in town at that time.”

The club had also made an appeal to locals to help improve its financial situation. According to local Narbonne newspaper L’Independant, €630,000 was paid by local entrepreneurs to help keep the club afloat.

L’Independant reported that Elsom is alleged to have spent €675,532, with some of it used to pay for “virtual services” to two companies, one of which is Australian and the other based in Hong Kong, in which he had large interests.

Elsom played 75 Tests for the Wallabies and captained Australia 22 times. He started his professional football career with rugby league club Canterbury in their Jersey Flegg team in 2001 and was a teammate of Sonny Bill Williams and Johnathan Thurston before switching to union, where he starred for the Waratahs and the Brumbies and also helped Irish side Leinster to win the European Cup in 2009 under Michael Chieka.

Former Waratahs coach Matt Williams held a number of senior positions at Narbonne before resigning in 2012. He now helps to coach the club’s junior side pro bono and spoke of his disappointment about the demise of the club.

“Rugby there, it’s the whole community; these little towns, these little provincial towns, are rugby towns,” Williams told this masthead.

“In the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, these were the powerhouses of French rugby, Narbonne, Beziers ... You know, it’s just heartbreaking for the community, and the community is really just starting to recover.

“I’m delighted justice is going to be done, absolutely delighted. I’m very grateful that people in Narbonne now they’ve forgiven me, because they know I wasn’t involved with them.

“But as I said, I was suspicious for so many years and, you know, if justice is going to be done, then that’s the right thing to do because it’s broken the community, broke their hearts.

“You know, some of these old guys there that gave their life to the club, you know, they came through as kids, played for the club, they were administrators or supporters. They saw outsiders come in and rip their club apart.”

In a twist, Elsom resurfaced last week in Ireland and gave an interview to The Sunday Times. He revealed that he was back in Dublin until the end of the year and coaching at the Catholic University School while he recovered from an injury, having left behind his construction business in Queensland.

“I’m recovering from an injury and this is a good place to be for it,” Elsom said in the interview. “I had a break in work and thought I should take it. I’m trying to avoid getting cut open again so I’ll just stay here and work on that.

“With the construction business back home, I’ve got people there who are very good. They don’t need me at the moment, so I’m happy about that.”

Elsom noted in the same interview that he had not alerted his old Leinster teammates that he was back in Dublin. However, at the time of the interview, the back-rower was due to attend Saturday’s sold-out URC fixture at Croke Park between Leinster and Munster as a guest of his former side. He was due to take part in a question and answer session alongside old teammates Bernard Jackman, Shane Horgan and Malcolm O’Kelly.

with the Telegraph, London

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