by Here are your rugby headlines for Saturday, October 12.
International arrest warrant issued for global star
An international arrest warrant has been issued for former Australian rugby star Rocky Elsom.
The 41-year-old former midfielder was found guilty of forgery, use of forgery and misuse of corporate assets and sentenced to five years in prison, according to multiple reports in France including AFP and sports daily L’Equipe. The alleged offenses relate to his time as president of RC Narbonne between 2015 and 2016, when the club fell into huge financial difficulties which saw them demoted to semi-professional status.
Elsom, who won 75 Wallabies caps and represented the likes of Leinster, Toulon and the Waratahs during his career, is reported to be “completely gone” ahead of his trial in Narbonne court this week. An international arrest warrant has now been issued for him.
A report from Midi Olympique says he has been accused of spending almost 700,000 euros during his time at the RCN, for himself and for the benefit of player friends. He is then said to have “completely disappeared” before this week and his trial at the Narbonne Court.
Less than a week ago, Elsom gave an interview to The Times, revealing that he had returned to Ireland and taken up a coaching role at the Catholic University School in Dublin.
REGISTER: Get the exclusive new Inside Welsh rugby newsletter for a full view of what’s really going on behind the scenes.
Wales learning autumn referees
Wales have been informed of the identity of the officials who will be in charge of their autumn Tests against Fiji, Australia and South Africa next month.
France’s Luc Ramos will oversee their opening meeting with the Fijians, while New Zealand’s James Doleman will take center stage in the third meeting of 2024 with the Wallabies. Meanwhile, Karl Dickson will be in charge of the Springboks.
Wales referee Craig Evans is one of six officials appointed to two Test matches during the Autumn, with the 32-year-old in charge of Scotland v Fiji at Murrayfield and England’s match with Japan at Allianz Stadium. He will also referee the match between Bristol and the Australian XV at Ashton Gate on Friday 8 November.
The Castell Nedd official will be kept busy as assistant referee for Scotland v South Africa and Ireland v Argentina matches during the window. Elsewhere, Welsh referees Ben Whitehouse, Adam Jones and Tom Spurrier took on TV Match Official (TMO) duties during the autumn campaign.
Ian Davies, the WRU’s national manager of top performance refereeing, said: “Obviously I’m delighted to see Craig Evans selected for Series 1 Internationals, England v Japan and Scotland v Fiji.
“I’ve known Craig for a long time, and there aren’t many people who work as hard to make Craig successful. He’s had a difficult year on a personal level, and I know his late father Martyn, watching him. and willing him.
“Ben Whitehouse is still one of the best TMOs in the world, if not one of the best TMOs in the world. While it’s always nice to see him recognised, the challenge I face is convincing the powers that be that he’s as talented as the whistle in his hand.
“On a personal level, I was delighted to see Tom Spurrier selected and to be part of World Rugby’s plans,” he said. even better TV Match Official. Luckily Tom was willing to listen.
“It’s a testament to his composure and decision-making ability under pressure when he moves from making the URC debut in Round 18 last year to being recognized by World Rugby with great potential.”
Wales stars return for Ospreys
Justin Tipuric is among the big names to return to the Ospreys team ahead of their game with the Bulls on Saturday, with Gareth Thomas and Keiran Williams also back in the squad.
Summer signing Kieran Hardy will also make his debut from the substitutes’ bench alongside Will Greatbanks, while Morgan Morse will make his 100th appearance for Toby Booth’s side.
Toby Booth’s side have won their last four games against South African opponents in the URC, but the Bulls have come out on top in each of their last three games with the Ospreys.
“When you play teams in South Africa, and I’m not going to generalize too much, but you know you’re going to have physical contact first and foremost,” Booth said.
“You can’t look too far past the physicality of the breakdown. We got it wrong the last time we played them down there and we paid the price. I know we’ll be up for it, we have I know we will. energy, but you have to have an end product.
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 ahead of their clash with the Lions on Sunday.
The 27-year-old was selected for last weekend’s meeting with the Sharks but missed out through illness, but is now set to start in the front row alongside the returning Rodrigo Martinez. Harri Keddie returns in the back, while Joe Westwood completes the changes starting in the middle.
Cameron Jones, signed on loan from the Ospreys amid the loose head injury crisis, starts on the bench. Dai Flanagan is without props Jordan Morris and Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, while there are also injury concerns for Rhodri Jones and Josh Reynolds.
The Dragons have not beaten a South African opponent since February 2020 when they won 13-10 against the Cheetahs, and the Lions have lost just two of their last 12 URC meetings with Welsh sides.
Head Coach Flanagan said: “The Lions are a very physical and tough team, you can see they are united and their coach Ivan van Rooyen has done 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 survive it.
“I love watching them play because they pick players you’ve never heard of and turn them into stars. I’m sure he enjoyed seeing so many people go on to play for South Africa from the Lions.
“We’re back at Rodney Parade and hopefully we can continue to turn out performances like we’ve been – getting our processes right and getting good results,” he said. “There’s nothing like playing in front of your own family and our attitude and the way we stayed in the fight last weekend was great. Now we have 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.
