Elsom confirms departure

Crash

http://newstalk.ie/newstalk/news/19724/elsom-admits-his-leinster-days-are-over....html

Newstalk wrote:

Leinster back row superstar Rocky Elsom has admitted he's played his last game for the province.

The Australian powerhouse turned in yet another man of the match performance as the Blues claimed their first European Cup title against Leicester at Murrayfield on Saturday.

However Elsom will now return home to play for the Barbarians against the Wallabies and is unlikely to return.

A number of Super 14 sides are thought to be vying for his signature after a magnificent season in Europe.

So thats it, the months of speculation are over! Rocky has been an absolute legend for Leinster this time, to see an import play with as much conviction, skill and determination as he did in a single season with the province was unreal. So glad to have been able to see him play in the flesh, and in blue.

Cheers Rocky!

Diamondmaker

Thats is dissapoininting. It wont stop the end of the speculation however until he signs elsewhere......

He better come here but as I posted elsewhere thats unlikley too.

Rattlehead_ie

v sad day for Leinster, he was a huge carrier for the team and of the ball itself.
Well done Rocky and best of luck back in the Super 14's

anonymous_joe

Inevitable, but, well, fúck.

The guy's a Leinster legend, and rightly so. Rocky won't ever be forgotten. Can only hope we get him back after the World Cup.

partyguinness

Thats a shame. What a legend.

So thats a flyhalf, scrum half, and a flanker to be filled for next year. Big voids. Although Sexton seems to be steping up to the plate at Flyhalf

NoelJ

worst start to the week. what a legend already.

Hes gonna be missed so so much

anonymous_joe

partyguinness wrote: »

Thats a shame. What a legend.

So thats a flyhalf, scrum half, and a flanker to be filled for next year. Big voids. Although Sexton seems to be steping up to the plate at Flyhalf

Eoin Reddan already signed. Sean O'Brien might be our next starting 6.

partyguinness

Eoin Reddan I forgot about that.

stephen_n

Pity to see him go kind of inevitable but what a year he gave us! Cheers Rocky

madds

He owes us nothing. Let's just be thankful we had him for one year and we managed to reach the Holy Grail. I'm praying his work ethic has rubbed off on some of our newer squad members and that his influence will be felt in the team next year and beyond.

Noopti

He has been a great player for us. All we can do is thank him and wish him luck with whichever team he signs for (Tah's would be my bet).

EdgarAllenPoo

Now if only Munster could sign him on the sly:p.

Can he have made that much money in one year for that to be enough, surely since he came here for the money in the first place and Leinster were desperate to keep him he could have named his price,stayed for another season and still gone back to Aus next year to be in contention for a world cup spot.

Big loss with Dr. Phil going too but that either frees up two spots for Irish lads or frees up money for two more overseas signings.

Chucky the tree

Too early for celebratory can?

chupacabra

As a munster man, im looking forward to not seeing Rocky smash and decimate his way through our defense, but as a fan of the game in this country, its a huge huge loss to leinster, the man is one of the best players in the world at the moment. But Sean O'Brien is more than capable of stepping into his position.

mikedragon32

Damn.

Thanks Rocky. Best of luck back home.

Gelio

Damn, well he has to do whats best for him

I suppose consolation is that he was a European champion in the one season he was here,so he has something to remember his time here.

zAbbo

Disappointing but not the end of the world.

I'd like to see O'Brien promoted as a starting back rower, and see more of Kevin McLaughlin too.

I don't think Leinster need to supplement the local talent with average players unless absolute needed.

ALH-06

zAbbo wrote: »

Disappointing but not the end of the world.

I'd like to see O'Brien promoted as a starting back rower, and see more of Kevin McLaughlin too.

I don't think Leinster need to supplement the local talent with average players unless absolute needed.

Yep. Definitely bad news for Leinster in the short term, but ultimately probably good news for Irish rugby in the long term. Hopefully O'Brien can continue and augment his development now with a starting berth. He's been really impressive so far.

remus808

I suppose the debate now is who plays 6 and 7?

Jennings has alot more experience on the blindside, but SOB seems more suited to that role. Maybe they will play left and right? Would be cool if nothing else.

Stealdo

This might be really wishful thinking.....but......although this seems to have come up on a couple of Aussie sites, can anything be read into the fact that there's no quotes in that Newstalk piece, not even a mention of a source, and no other Irish news agency seems to have picked it up?

Tim Robbins

I was going to post this in a separate thread... Just looking at it the other way around, he hasn't just been about Rocky helping Leinster, I think Leinster have also helped him.

I think he developed as player at Leinster. He was a classy back row player last year, no question. But he is now unquestionably one of the best players in world rugby. IMO, he's the best number 6's I have ever seen play rugby.

The fans love him. The chants of "Rocky, Rocky" were brilliant. Just wondering if other fans would also think Leinster has been good for Rocky

smurphy29

Yeah, I think it's pretty much consensus that he's played like a hero and will leave as a legend no matter what. Good to see people being philosophical about it - who would argue with the importance of playing for one's country after all? Winning yesterday probably makes the decision a little bit easier for him if anything, as there's no feeling of 'unfinished business' - he goes home as a European champion and will forever be remambered by the fans.

He's irreplaceable, the best in the business, but Sean O'Brien does look a great prospect, and I wouldn't bet against both he and Jennings playig test rugby next year. I still wouldn't rule out a new signing coming in, though.

Fare the well, Rocky, a true great. Best 6 in the world? No doubt about it. See you in the World Cup group stages (gulp).

NickNolte

I think Elsom's presence and his workrate and attitude will leave an indelible mark on the Leinster psyche. It's heart wrenching to see him go after he gave us so much in such a short space of time but I'm sure his work ethic will live on in the team.

Slán Rocky. You will be missed.

Tim Robbins

smurphy29 wrote: »

Yeah, I think it's pretty much consensus that he's played like a hero and will leave as a legend no matter what. Good to see people being philosophical about it - who would argue with the importance of playing for one's country after all? Winning yesterday probably makes the decision a little bit easier for him if anything, as there's no feeling of 'unfinished business' - he goes home as a European champion and will forever be remambered by the fans.

He's irreplaceable, the best in the business, but Sean O'Brien does look a great prospect, and I wouldn't bet against both he and Jennings playig test rugby next year. I still wouldn't rule out a new signing coming in, though.

Fare the well, Rocky, a true great. Best 6 in the world? No doubt about it. See you in the World Cup group stages (gulp).

Wally's a far better player than both imo.

Even in the lineout, one facet of the game, Elsom has been amazing.

Podge_irl

Bollocks

EdgarAllenPoo

Don't suppose anyone knows if Neil Best's contract with Northampton is up anytime soon?

danthefan

I haven't seen this anywhere else yet. I think that chances of him staying are slim at best but I'm going to wait for something a bit more official.

anonymous_joe

Tim Robbins wrote: »

Wally's a far better player than both imo.

Even in the lineout, one facet of the game, Elsom has been amazing.

David Wallace is a freak though. He was the best flanker in Ireland of the last decade. One of, if not the most talented backrows we've ever produced.

In saying that, I reckon Jennings is the most underrated backrow in Ireland.

As for O'Brien he's got an awful lot of talent.

Leinster's backrow has been much, much stronger than Munster's this year, and that's been because of Elsom. The big problem facing Leinster right now is filling the blindside role, though at least our openside and number eight are still relatively young.

Can see both Munster and Leinster scrabbling for a 6 over the summer, and Munster desperately need either a utility backrow, or a youngster, because Leamy's looking a bit meh, and needs to freshen up and have some pressure taken off him to rediscover his form, and Ronan's not of the calibre of the man he'll replace in a season or two. (And no-one really is.)

danthefan

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Leinster's backrow has been much, much stronger than Munster's this year, and that's been because of Elsom. The big problem facing Leinster right now is filling the blindside role, though at least our openside and number eight are still relatively young.

Elsom has been quality of course but the backrow worked as a unit. Heaslip is the best 8 in Ireland by far, and Jennings work at the breakdown is superb and you are guaranteed about 15 tackles a game, often more. Wallace is a very good player but if he were available to Leinster I wouldn't have picked him for the final.

fifth

Damn it!

You'll be missed.. I've watched every minute of you with leinster rocky and your every bit the true Leinster legend!!

smurphy29

Getting off topic here but yes, Wally is the best openside in the country and is a beast generally. I've a feeling, though, that the Lions (particularly those in or around the 30 mark) are going to come back knackered, and guys like Jennings and O'Brien, who will be having a quieter summer with low intensity games in the States, will be much fresher next season. Same goes for BOD by the way - I don't know how they're going to get another three tests out of him this summer! He looks shattered. I'm shattered and I wasn't even playing...

anonymous_joe

danthefan wrote: »

Elsom has been quality of course but the backrow worked as a unit. Heaslip is the best 8 in Ireland by far, and Jennings work at the breakdown is superb and you are guaranteed about 15 tackles a game, often more. Wallace is a very good player but if he were available to Leinster I wouldn't have picked him for the final.

Oh hell yeah.

Huge advantage in having a guy like Jennings. I think Wallace has more natural talent, but for Leinster I'd pick Jennings any time.

And the way Ferris is going, for Ireland I'd be half tempted to give him the Elsom role and put Jennings and Heaslip in as well and try and play like Leinster do at the breakdown.

smurphy29 wrote: »

Getting off topic here but yes, Wally is the best openside in the country and is a beast generally. I've a feeling, though, that the Lions (particularly those in or around the 30 mark) are going to come back knackered, and guys like Jennings and O'Brien, who will be having a quieter summer with low intensity games in the States, will be much fresher next season. Same goes for BOD by the way - I don't know how they're going to get another three tests out of him this summer! He looks shattered. I'm shattered and I wasn't even playing...

Elsom's played 18 months without a preseason. Some guys can. Wallace won't be that bad.

conf101

What a loss but the guy's given absolutely everything to Leinster this season!

frankie2shoes

Chieka was just interviewed on newstalk's "off the ball" and maintains that we could still hold onto Rocky for another season. It will be at least a week or two before it will be known for sure!
He also confirmed that Rocky is indeed human and not some cyborg!!!
I'm not so sure!;)

Stealdo

I knew there was something not quite right about that story - he may end up going or not, but when a story says someone confirmed something but doesn't give a quote or a source there's always something funny going on.

Newstalk scoops itself - what a shocker.

Traumadoc

Interesting Australian perspective:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25531062-32102,00.html

subfreq

Even though I was on the wrong side of the result in Croker I will remember that day with awe for the rest of my life and the chance to see Rocky playing a this peak. Very rare you get to see a player not only at the peak of his ability but also be the best in his position in the world. You could probably throw BOD into that as well.

He'll be a big loss for Leinster next season but has done so much for the province in such a short amount of time.

anonymous_joe

Traumadoc wrote: »

Interesting Australian perspective:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25531062-32102,00.html

Even more sucky thing for them - they're the rich tri-nation.

zAbbo

Sneaky bid for Phil Waugh would be interesting, does he tick the Randwick box?

garbanzo

Rocky for Taoiseach !

ALH-06

Traumadoc wrote: »

Interesting Australian perspective:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25531062-32102,00.html

So it seems like the ARU are offering Rocky about €420k to return. I had no idea they'd be capable of offering that kind of salary. The article does mention 'third party sponsors', though - I wonder what / who these are...

How much would Leinster be offering him does anyone know???

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Even more sucky thing for them - they're the rich tri-nation.

They couldn't be, surely - union has a tough time competing with league and aussie rules etc over there. They only have a playing populaton of about 30-35 thousand iirc. Does that sound right?

Podge_irl

ALH-06 wrote: »

How much would Leinster be offering him does anyone know???

I propose we offer somewhere in the region of 5-10% GDP.

RuggieBear

Podge_irl wrote: »

I propose we offer somewhere in the region of 5-10% GDP.

what's that now...about 84 cents!?

remus808

zAbbo wrote: »

Sneaky bid for Phil Waugh would be interesting, does he tick the Randwick box?

To be honest, he's not the player we need at all. We have two good opensides, if we're going to replace Rocky, what we need is a big, abrasive lineout forward. Preferably a dual lock/6.

danthefan

Phil Waugh has signed on with the ARU again, not an option regardless.

RHunce

great season!!

anonymous_joe

ALH-06 wrote: »

They couldn't be, surely - union has a tough time competing with league and aussie rules etc over there. They only have a playing populaton of about 30-35 thousand iirc. Does that sound right?

That's not much smaller than New Zealand's playing population actually.

Australia's a wealthier country than South Africa or New Zealand, and their teams have similar sized support bases to most afaik.

twinytwo

BOD is quoted as saying Rocky is the best he has ever played with...

zAbbo

twinytwo wrote: »

BOD is quoted as saying Rocky is the best he has ever played with...

where?

trout

zAbbo wrote: »

where?

Sunday Times and today's Irish Times and Examiner, iirc

/edit - Irish Times link here