- Ex-Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom is currently in hiding
- Received a five-year prison sentence for misuse of company property
- Formerly chairman of French rugby club Narbonne
Former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom is officially in hiding after leaving Ireland amid fears he could be extradited to France on a European arrest warrant.
It comes after Elsom, 41, who played 75 times for the Wallabies, was recently sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for misusing company assets during his tenure as president of French rugby club Narbonne.
The explosive allegations include that Elsom backdated a club doctor’s contract, that a payment from beer giant Heineken was illegally transferred to a company in his name and that he also agreed to salary advances for players.
Elsom was found guilty of forgery and ordered to repay 705,000 euros (1.1 million euros) from his time at the club between 2015 and 2016.
He has denied any wrongdoing and his current location is unknown.
“All I can say is I have spoken to the gardai [Irish police] and they said if I’m in Ireland they have to bring me in,” Elsom told the BBC Sydney Morning Herald.
‘The most important thing to remember is that if I am in custody, my defense becomes a lot more expensive and difficult.
“If I’m detained, I’ll have to hire a lawyer to do everything for me, all the phone calls, trying to find documents, talking to people, defending myself.”
Former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom is officially in hiding after leaving Ireland amid fears he could be extradited to France on a European arrest warrant
Elsom, 41, was recently sentenced to five years in prison for alleged conduct as president of French rugby club Narbonne between 2015 and 2016.
The former Wallabies skipper (right) played 75 Test matches for the Wallabies, 22 of which were as captain
When it comes to possible public recognition, Elsom admitted, “I’ll have to go out at some point, but I’ll keep my head down, that’s for sure.”
Before Elsom hurriedly left Ireland, he was a coach at a school in Dublin. He loved that their rugby program was still in its infancy.
“It’s not like you’re rolling in a Joeys [St Joseph’s College in Sydney’s Hunters Hill] or a Nudgee [College]’ he said.
“They got to go up against much bigger teams and just be part of it, being on the field all the time, doing the weight sessions, doing the assessments with them… it was great to be there.
‘It was something that was missing [in my life] for a long time.’
Elsom is also a decorated figure at Irish club Leinster, who he helped win the Heineken Cup final in 2009.
Before signing for the NSW Waratahs in 2003, Australian Schoolboys rugby star Jersey Flegg played rugby league with the Bulldogs alongside future footy legends Johnathan Thurston and Sonny Bill Williams.