International arrest warrant issued for former Leinster star Rocky Elsom

The Australian was awarded 'Leinster Rugby Player of the Year' in 2009.

Ex-Australia and Leinster forward Rocky Elsom is the subject of an international arrest warrant over his conduct as president of French club Narbonne in 2015 and 2016.

The 41-year-old from Melbourne captained Australia as a player, and wore the blue of Leinster in the 2008/09 season, winning the 2009 European Cup.

According to L'Équipe, a French court found him guilty of misusing corporate assets in 2015 and 2016 while in charge of the southern France club.

Two years after the club severed ties with their president, the two-time French champions went into liquidation and were relegated to the the third-tier Championnat Nationale, where they remain today.

Yesterday, a Narbonne judge sentenced Elsom to five years in prison and ordered him to repay €705,000.

Elsom was also accused of having paid €79,000 to a former coach when “nothing could justify it” and of hiring for about €7,200 a month an individual living in Australia who “never came to Narbonne” and “did not perform any service” for the club, lawyer Patrick Tabet said.

According to an interview with The Sunday Times published last weekend, Elsom is currently back in Dublin working as a coach at Catholic University School on Leeson Street.

Former Leinster hooker and now director of rugby at the school, Brian Blaney, described his new member of staff as "brilliant".

"I’d rung Leo (Cullen) to see if there was a young pro at Leinster who might be interested in a few coaching hours," Blaney said. "I didn’t expect to get Rocky’s phone number in response. An alarm rang, I’ll be honest. I’m thinking: will he even turn up?

"But he’s been brilliant. He hasn’t missed a session. He’s in after school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but he’s also doing 7am contact skills sessions, using mats on the floor of the gym, and video analysis sessions, too. We can learn so much from him while he’s here."