Elsom
Rocky Elsom is a former Australian international and is considered by many to be one of the Wallabies best.
Rocky Elsom
Often considered to be one of Australia’s best ever players, Rocky Elsom had a long and prosperous career as a versatile flanker, winning many major accolades and captaining the national side.
Born in Melbourne, Australia in February 1983, Rocky Elsom was educated in Brisbane where he first began playing rugby union. As a youth he eventually played for the Australian Schoolboys and was noticed for his pace, despite his significant stature. After school he briefly switched codes to rugby league, spending two seasons with Canterbury Bulldogs before beginning his union career in 2003 with Waratahs.
It was with the Sydney side that Rocky Elsom began to flourish and he was a key player in the final three years of the Super 12 with the side, playing mainly as a blindside flanker but occasionally in the backrow or as a lock. On his 50th appearance he was named captain in 2005 and two years later was named the ‘best performing player’ in the newly formed Super 14 and the ‘most valuable flanker’ in Australia.
Rocky Elsom stayed with Waratahs until 2008 – making over 60 appearances in total – before heading to Europe to join Leinster. Despite only spending a year with the Irish provincial side, he earned a wealth of awards and achievements. This included helping them win the Heineken Cup, being their ‘Rugby Player of the Year’, the ‘Magners League Player of the Year’, double figures ‘Man of the Match’ awards and being voted ‘European Player of the Year’ – to name just a few examples.
After this season, Rocky Elsom returned to Australia but didn’t enjoy the same levels of success. He spent short stints with Brumbies, another spell with the Waratahs, Japanese side Kobe Steelers, as well as Toulon and RC Narbonne in France, however, persistent injuries meant limited appearances for all these sides before he retired from the game in 2014.
Elsom made his international debut in 2005 against Samoa following a run of good form for the Waratahs. This would prove to be a game that set the tone for his time with the national side, as he scored the opening try of the game and became the first-choice number six from then on. In 2007 he played in the Rugby World Cup and on his debut at this stage scored three tries – which at the time was the fastest hat-trick in rugby history. Despite not winning a major tournament he was named ‘Wallaby of the Year’ in 2008 and in 2009 became the Australia captain.
In the seasons after this, Rocky Elsom’s appearances for the Wallabies were also restricted by injury and he played his final game for the side in 2011. Prior to this he had also received call-ups to the Barbarians squad in 2007 and 2009.
Today, Rocky Elsom is still involved in the game and is a major shareholder in RC Narbonne. He has also spearheaded a program to recruit, prep and develop rugby players around Europe.
