Leinster set to put up a fight as Rocky exit looms large

THE Rocky Elsom ‘will he stay or will he go’ saga took another twist last night when Leinster dismissed reports he had quit the province.

Elsom, who is training with the Barbarians ahead of tomorrow’s Twickenham clash with England, was quoted earlier in the day speaking of his desire to play for a Super 14 team to allow him pull on the Wallabies jersey once again.

Elsom said he had spoken at length with the Australian management, adding he’s “finalising things now”.

However, the Heineken Cup champions are making huge efforts to have the world’s best back row forward back in Leinster colours again for most next season.

“We are aware he is returning to play for Australia and he wants to play for his country,” said a Leinster spokesman last night. “The situation is, yes, he wants to play for the Wallabies, which we can understand, but we are working very hard to come to some solution. Physically he’s returning to Australia but it doesn’t mean he’s not coming back to Ireland. We’re still hopeful we can keep him. We want him to stay.”

The 26-year-old flanker wants to resume playing with Australia next month in time for the 2009 Tri-Nations, then return to Leinster after the Wallabies complete their season on their northern hemisphere tour in November. However, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) are believed to be averse to this idea.

It was reported yesterday that Elsom will not be permitted to play Test rugby merely by re-signing with the ARU. He also must commit to a province before returning to the Wallabies ranks.

“It is understood there is growing unease that Elsom’s huge popularity in Ireland, especially in the wake of his man-of-the-match performance for Leinster in the Heineken Cup final ... could leave him vulnerable to Irish enticements to return to Dublin once his commitments with the Wallabies are over at the end of November,” wrote Wayne Smith in The Australian. “It would only need Elsom to strike some difficulty, real or perceived, with the Super 14 unions for him to claim free-agent status, which might be enough of a loophole to allow him to put in one more season at Leinster before the 2011 World Cup.”

Elsom’s final game in the northern hemisphere this season will be when he lines out with the Baa-baas.

“I’ve really enjoyed this season,” he said. “I already liked Dublin before playing for Leinster and obviously enjoyed the rugby. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I have done but, ultimately, I’m Australian and I want to play for Australia. You don’t always have the opportunity to do that but I do now. My contract with Leinster is over so I’m going to try and head back to Australia. I want to play for a Super 14 team because my first priority has always been the Wallabies. I’ve spoken at length with the Australian management about moving back, it’s not something I’ve only just decided to do. It’s just about finalising things now.”

Man of the match in the Heineken Cup quarter-final and final, skipper Brian O’Driscoll even went as far as to state Leinster could not have won the competition without Elsom.

“The experience of playing European rugby has been great,” said Elsom. “We have two sprints in Australia – the Super 14 is over three months and the Test season is similar in length.

“This season has gone a lot better than I expected. The way it has turned has been great.

“We had a team that struggled at times but we fought really hard. That doesn’t always look good in the middle of the season but it’s handy when you play the big matches. You need that spirit – it’s all we had at times.

“We had the final and won that which was fantastic, but a couple of weeks earlier we had what was almost a bigger game in Croke Park.”