International arrest warrant issued for rugby legend, 41, found guilty of forgery and squandering thousands from club
AN INTERNATIONAL arrest warrant has been issued for a rugby legend.
A French court found former Australia captain Rocky Elsom guilty of forgery and misusing corporate assets.
He was accused of the illegal activity while he was president of French rugby club Narbonne from 2015 to 2016.
According to French media reports, the former Wallabies flanker was sentenced on Friday in absentia to five years in prison.
Elsom, 41, was ordered to pay back squandered assets of £586,000 which he embezzled before quitting Narbonne.
He is said to have paid £66,000 to a former coach with no justification.
Elsom also allegedly hired someone from Australia for £6,000 per month – but they did not provide any services to Narbonne.
Australian investment fund FGM had acquired Narbonne in 2011 with Elsom a majority shareholder for the business who briefly turned out for the club at the end of his career in 2014.
The French side – who won the French title in 1936 and 1979 – were put into liquidation in 2018 amid continued financial struggles.
Melbourne-born Elsom started out in rugby league with the Canterbury Bulldogs before switching to rugby union.
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He went on to play 75 times for Australia from 2005 to 2011.
Elsom scored 70 points, featured at the 2011 World Cup and even captained the Wallabies 22 times.
The 6ft 5ins second-rower also had a stint with Leinster and was man of the match in the 2009 Heineken Cup final victory against Leicester Tigers.
In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Elsom revealed he is back in Dublin working as a coach at a school, leaving behind his construction company in Queensland.
He said: “I’m recovering from an injury and this is a good place to be for it.
“I’ve got people there who are very good. They don’t need me at the moment so I’m happy about that.”