Exclusive: ‘Like spitting on the carpet’

It was at a chateau outside of Narbonne on October 31, 2015, that Rocky Elsom – the former Wallabies captain, who is facing five years imprisonment – recognised that the beginning of the end was nigh with the French rugby club he part-owned.

Elsom’s name hit the headlines on the weekend after a French court placed an international arrest warrant on him and sentenced him in his absence for allegedly embezzling money while president and part-owner of Narbonne.

The court found Elsom guilty of forgery, the use of forgery and misuse of corporate assets and ordered him to pay back €700,000 ($1.13 million) that he was judged to have embezzled.

Elsom, who has spoken exclusively to The Roar about the events that landed him back in the spotlight almost a decade after leaving the club, has denied the allegations.

French lawyer Patrick Tabet claimed Elsom was found to have made a “completely unjustified” payment of €79k ($A128k) to a former coach and also a €7,2000 ($11,670) monthly salary to an Australian resident who “never came to Narbonne” to act as general manager.

The Roar can reveal that the $128k payment was to former Wallaby Chris Whitaker, the then Narbonne assistant coach who had been offered an extension deal before a change of the head coach led to a cleanout.

It’s believed the then RNCM President Bernard Achilla had discussed the settlement with Whitaker.

There is no suggestion by The Roar that Whitaker received any more payment than he was owed by the club.

The manager who was alleged to have received payments is Chris Bayman, who has denied receiving any money from the club.

Talking to The Roar, Elsom pinpointed the meeting that he believes set this in motion.

On the same day Michael Cheika’s Wallabies ran out on Twickenham to tackle the All Blacks in the 2015 World Cup final, Elsom, the brilliant back-rower who failed to shut down Israel Dagg in their semi-final loss to the same opponent four years earlier at Eden Park, was introduced to Jihad Manai – a billionaire out of Qatar.

The head of Roland Garros, Gilbert Ysern, who previously owned Racing Club Narbonne Méditerranée, put in a call for Elsom to meet Manai. Elsom, who was tired and open to a clean and prosperous way out for everyone, obliged.

Manai, was introduced as a member of the Qatari Investment Authority, which was said to be interested in buying the French Pro D2 club. He represented the latest potential Qatar buyer three years after Nasser al-Khelaifi’s deal with Paris’ Stade Francais never got off the ground in a negotiation described by the club’s president, Thomas Savare, as a “sea snake”.

For the stakeholders of RCNM, it was music to their ears after historically struggling financially since claiming their last title in 1979.

Indeed, those financial struggles had led to Elsom and a consortium of other Australians, including World Cup-winning coach Bob Dwyer, taking control of the Mediterranean club in late 2012.

Three years later though, with Elsom stabilising the club and having led them to the finals, the Qatari Investment Fund, through Manai, came knocking.

The club’s board and other stakeholders, wanting to see Narbonne explode back into the French Top 14, it was something the board and various other stakeholders jumped at.

“I see this arrival as a tremendous opportunity for the town of Narbonne,” declared Didier Mouly, the mayor. “Jihad Manai wishes to reach the top.”

Guy Molveau, the regional rugby president, added: “We can only praise the Australians for [what they did] four years ago. They, and a group from Narbonne, have saved the club…but if the Qataris have the means to take an interest in general, and RCNM Narbonne in particular, it’s an act which can become very important for rugby and also a boost for the economy.”

But Elsom immediately had his guard up – and it is this financial prudence that is one of the best defences against his alleged “misuse of assets” that has led to the Australian being issued an international arrest warrant.

“I just met him briefly, and I said the same thing that I said to everyone that came to buy the club – because there were other people – I don’t want anything, I don’t want any money for the club, but you just need to say what you’re going to do and however much that is, and however that’s going to work, you need to just put that in a capital account and me and a solicitor will assess whether the milestones have been met to release it,” Elsom told The Roar from Dublin.

“There’s no price that I get paid, just that whatever promise you make has to be backed up with cash in the bank, and put in that capital account subject to conditions.

“He said, ‘Fine’.”

The issue is nothing came from Elsom’s requests despite Manai telling local reporters he had given the Australian until December 31 to accept his offer.

 “If he doesn’t call me, then very sincerely and without arrogance, I have no reason to chase after him,” Manai said at the time.

“Obviously my preference is for Narbonne,” he added, “but when the bride doesn’t want to get married, should one remain single? If the bride isn’t interested, then it’s best I go elsewhere to get married.”

All along, however, Elsom told the Narbonne stakeholders that Manai was not who he claimed to be.

“When I said that, I felt the wrath of the entire board, the local council, the FFR in the region,” Elsom told The Roar.

“It was like I was walking into their house and spitting on the carpet.”

It led to Elsom declaring in a club statement in late December 2015 that no offer had come in and, therefore, the push for Middle Eastern investment was over for now.

“Even if there had been an offer, I seriously doubt that it would be in the best interests for Narbonne or RCNM, therefore the matter’s closed and we should all move on,” Elsom said.

Although Elsom was later vindicated, the Australian says the damage was done. There was no coming back from the breakdown of trust.

“Months later they realised he wasn’t that guy, but my position became untenable because they had taken such a hard line to try and get me to sell it to this guy, who was having them on,” Elsom says.

“We had this terrible relationship after that. Those involved in trying to convince me to sell were embarrassed.

“I said, ‘let’s not worry about it, we’ll just move on.’ But it’s kind of stuck if you live there.                                                                                            

“If I was wrong, it wouldn’t have bothered me because I didn’t grow up there and I’d just say, ‘OK, sorry, here you go, you can have it,’ and then go from there. But for them, that was … a permanent mark.

“As a result, I said I’m issuing new shares. You can buy those shares, which means you’re putting them into the company and instead of me having 97%, I’ll have 25% which means I’ll have no control. But until you put the money in, I’m running this club how I want.”

Within a year, Elsom left the club.

He did so after posting a profit in two of three years he was president. He also raised a further €400,000 from the shares he sold off in 2016.

On the field, he also left the club in a fine position, with several well-credentialled foreigners, including Karl Tu’inukuafe, Huia Edmonds, Piri Weepu, Brett Sheehan, Stephen Brett, Daniel Halangahu and Nafi Tuitavake, either at the club or on their way.

Despite spending between €3.5-4 million per year during his tenure at Narbonne, it’s understood the French Pro D2 club almost doubled its spending in the years after Elsom left.

By 2018, Narbonne was placed into administration and relegated.

Six years later, with the then mayor’s second-in-command Bertrand Malquier now in the top job, Elsom’s international arrest warrant appeared out of the blue last week.

Elsom believes he has no case to answer.

“Rather than spending €3.5-4m a year, they spent 6.5 and 7m a year, so funds weren’t a problem – it was the performance of the team,” Elsom says.

“Those two points together mean there is no case. The first being, they’re not saying I put it in my pocket, they’re saying I was reckless.

“It’s only worth talking about if the club was in a terrible place and it wasn’t, it was in an excellent place.”

Elsom believes it is clear various figures in Narbonne were out to get him because every time the club suffered a significant loss, they shifted the focus on him.

“When they took over, they said it’s ‘a mess and Rocky’s been doing all this stuff’,” Elsom told The Roar.

“They didn’t really carry on much about it, but when they started losing they did. Every time they got beaten by a big score, they said they were cooperating with police.”