These are your rugby headlines for Saturday 12 October.
International arrest warrant issued for the world star
It has been reported that an international arrest warrant has been issued for former Australian rugby star Rocky Elsom.
According to multiple reports in France, including AFP and sports newspaper L’Equipe, the 41-year-old former winger was found guilty of forgery, forgery and misappropriation of company assets and sentenced to five years in prison. The alleged offenses relate to his time as president of RC Narbonne between 2015 and 2016; During this period, the club ran into major financial difficulties and they relegated to semi-professional status.
Elsom, who made 75 appearances for the Wallabies and represented the likes of Leinster, Toulon and Waratahs during his career, was reported to have “completely disappeared” ahead of his court hearing in Narbonne this week. An international arrest warrant has now been issued for him.
A report by Midi Olympique states that he is accused of embezzling approximately 700,000 euros for his own benefit and that of his fellow players during his time at RCN. He is then said to have “completely disappeared” ahead of his trial in Narbonne Court this week.
Less than a week ago, Elsom announced in an interview with the Times that he had returned to Ireland and taken up a coaching role at the Catholic University School in Dublin.
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Wales learn about autumn referees
Wales have learned the identities of the officials who will take part in next month’s Autumn Tests against Fiji, Australia and South Africa.
France’s Luc Ramos will manage their first meeting with the Fijians, while New Zealand’s James Doleman will be in the middle for their third meeting with the Wallabies in 2024. Meanwhile, his campaign with the Springboks will be managed by Karl Dickson.
Welsh umpire Craig Evans is one of six umpires appointed for the two Test matches in the Autumn; The 32-year-old is officiating Scotland v Fiji at Murrayfield and England v Japan at the Allianz Stadium. He will also referee the match between Bristol and the Australian XV at Ashton Gate on Friday, November 8.
The official from Neath will be kept busy as he will also be an assistant referee in the Scotland-South Africa and Ireland-Argentina matches. Welsh referees Ben Whitehouse, Adam Jones and Tom Spurrier also took on Television Match Official (TMO) duties during the autumn season.
Ian Davies, WRU national elite performance referee manager, said: “Naturally I am delighted to see Craig Evans selected for the Tier 1 International, England v Japan and Scotland v Fiji competitions.
“I’ve known Craig for a very long time and there aren’t many people who work as hard as Craig to succeed. He’s had a difficult year on a personal level and I know his late father Martyn will look after him and I want him to continue.
“Ben Whitehouse remains one of the best, if not the best TMOs in the world. While it’s always nice to see him recognised, the challenge for me is to convince the powers that be that he is equally capable with the whistle in his hand.
“On a personal level, I was delighted to see Tom Spurrier selected and included in World Rugby’s plans,” he added. “When I came into this role six months ago, I knew that no matter how good a referee Tom was, he would be a good referee and even better Television Match Official. Luckily Tom was ready to listen.
“To see him go from making his URC debut in Round 18 last year to being recognized by World Rugby as someone with huge potential is a testament to his composure and decision-making ability under pressure.”
Wales stars return for Ospreys
Justin Tipuric is among the big names returning to the Ospreys squad ahead of their clash with the Bulls on Saturday; Gareth Thomas and Keiran Williams also returned to the team.
Summer signing Kieran Hardy also makes his debut from the bench alongside Will Greatbanks, while number eight Morgan Morse will make his 100th appearance for Toby Booth’s team.
Toby Booth’s side have won four of their last five games against their South African opponents at the URC but the Bulls have come out on top in each of their last three games against the Ospreys.
“When you play South African teams, I won’t generalize too much, but first of all you know you’re going to be in a physical match,” Booth said.
“You can’t ignore the physicality of the breakdown too much. We made that mistake the last time we played them there and paid the price. I know we’ll be ready for it, I know we will be energized, but you’ve got to have an end product, it’s definitely going to be around the breakdown and accuracy.”
ospreys: Max Nagy; Iestyn Hopkins, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Ryan Conbeer; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Gareth Thomas, Dewi Lake, Tom Botha, James Ratti, Adam Beard, Jac Morgan (captain), Justin Tipuric, Morgan Morris.
Replacements: Sam Parry, Garyn Phillips, Ben Warren, Lewis Jones, Will Greatbanks, Kieran Hardy, Luke Scully, Jack Walsh.
Four changes for dragons
Wales prop Leon Brown returns to the Dragons’ starting line-up as one of four changes made ahead of Sunday’s clash with the Lions.
The 27-year-old was selected for last weekend’s meeting with the Sharks but missed out due to illness, but will now start alongside the returning Rodrigo Martinez in the front row. Joe Westwood completes the changes, starting at centre, with Harri Keddie returning to the back row.
Cameron Jones, signed on loan from the Ospreys amid a rampant injury crisis, starts on the bench. They are without Dai Flanagan, Jordan Morris and Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, while Rhodri Jones and Josh Reynolds also have injury concerns.
The Dragons have not beaten a South African opponent since February 2020, when they won 13-10 against the Cheetahs; The Lions, meanwhile, have lost just two of their last 12 URC matches against Welsh sides.
Head Coach Flanagan said: “The Lions are a very, very physical and tough team, you can see they are together and their coach Ivan van Rooyen is doing a great job. “They are much more physical than other South African teams; they want to take you to dark places and see if you can live with it. .
“I enjoy watching them play because they take players you’ve never heard of and turn them into stars. I’m sure it’s been really rewarding for them to see so many from the Lions go on to play for South Africa.
“We are back at Rodney Parade and hopefully we can continue to put in performances like before, get our processes right and get good results,” he added. “There’s nothing like playing in front of your own people and our attitude and how we stayed in contention last weekend was impressive. Now we just need to build on that and get better.”
Dragons: Angus O’Brien; Rio Dyer, Joe Westwood, Aneurin Owen, Jared Rosser; Lloyd Evans, Rhodri Williams; Rodrigo Martinez, Brodie Coghlan, Leon Brown, Ben Carter (captain), Matthew Screech, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Harri Keddie, Taine Basham.
Replacements: Oli Burrows, Cameron Jones, Chris Coleman, Ryan Woodman, Dan Lydiate, Dane Blacker, Will Reed, Ewan Rosser.