Former Ireland rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll once described him as “the best player I have ever played with” and that he would not have won his first European Rugby Champions Cup in 2009 without him.
Rocky Elsom, the Heineken Cup winner with Leinster and the former Australian rugby international, surfaced again in the news over the weekend, but this time activities off the field of play.
The 41-year-old, who played 75 Test matches for the Wallabies and is now coaching rugby in Dublin, is the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by a French court after he was sentenced to five years in prison in absentia. On Friday he was found guilty of forgery, use of forgery and misuse of corporate assets during his time as president of Narbonne, a rugby club in the southern French town, between 2015 and 2016.
He is accused of embezzling €705,000 from the French club, according to French media reports.
The rugby star, once likened to “a modern-day renaissance man, a Leonardo da Vinci in studs” by an Australian journalist, had previously represented the French club as a player in the 2013-14 season.
The court ruling came just a day before the behemoths of Irish provincial rugby Leinster and Munster, clashed at Croke Park in Dublin, the scene of one of his many outstanding displays 15 years ago.
A lawyer involved in the case, Patrick Tabet told AFP that that Elsom is accused of having paid €79,000 to a former coach when “nothing could justify it,” while he is also alleged to have paid €7,200 a month to an individual residing in Australia who “never came to Narbonne” and “did not perform any service” for the club.
The French prosecutor requested a two-year prison term, but the president of the criminal court sentenced him to five years and issued an international arrest warrant.
The story takes on a fresh Irish dimension for Elsom with his recent return to Dublin in a new role.
[ Whatever happened to the wonderful Rocky Elsom?Opens in new window ]
Elsom is reported to be living in Rathmines and coaching rugby in Catholic University School (CUS) in Leeson Street in Dublin city centre, “while recovering from injury”, he told Peter O’Reilly in a recent interview in The Sunday Times. He told the newspaper that he was taking a break from his construction business in Noosa, an Australian resort on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, and that he had planned to stay in Dublin until December.
In rugby, the Australian was a generational player. He made his international debut in 2005 and was captain of the Wallabies from 2009 to just before the 2011 Rugby World Cup, a tournament in which he played.
In that 2009 season with Leinster, he played 20 matches, won a phenomenal 13 man-of-the-match awards, six in nine games in the Heineken Cup, including the best player accolade in the semi-final victory over Munster at Croke Park, and the final win against the Leicester Tigers at Murrayfield. He was never replaced during a Leinster match, a staggering achievement.
At six-foot, six inches, the back row forward had an imposing physical presence, but it was his athletic ability and rugby nous that set him apart on a pitch, making him a dominant figure in attack and defence.
Away from the pitch, Elsom cut a more solitary figure.
Coming from a full season in Australia when he joined Leinster, he was afforded a considerably reduced training load compared to his team-mates. Given his performances on a Saturday, there were no complaints.
Several team-mates have offered insights into Elsom’s character in interviews over the years. Current Argentina head coach and former Leinster outhalf Felipe Contepomi called him a “great player” and “one of those players outside the mould”.
How Leinster overcame Munster in absorbing URC battle at Croke Park
O’Driscoll, his former Leinster team-mate and the Ireland and Lions centre, said Elsom’s absence from training Monday to Wednesday was common and that while his contribution on a Thursday might be low-key, it didn’t compromise his consistent brilliance in matches.
“I might not have been picking up on the small things that he was doing but he did all his talking on the pitch. That’s the reality of it, he didn’t have to say a lot,” said O’Driscoll.
“He is one of the most consistent players I’ve ever come across. That’s an inspiration in itself.”
Now, a court case in France threatens to overshadow a glittering playing career.
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