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June 02, 2009 [/i]
Rocky Elsom said the realisation that he and Queensland Reds would not be a good fit prompted him to break off negotiations with the side, opening the way for him to sign with the Brumbies and the Australian Rugby Union.
From the outset the Reds had been favourites to recruit Elsom on his return from his eight-month stint with Heineken Cup champions Leinster, so much so that the 40-Test blindside flanker had insisted he would talk to no other province as long as the Queensland deal proceeded smoothly.
But almost from that point, negotiations became strained and while Elsom refused to divulge precisely where his planned move to Ballymore went off the rails, he admitted he had not seen eye-to-eye with Queensland officials.
"We had a difference of opinion over the direction of the club and ultimately had I gone there that would have been divisive," said Elsom, who has returned to Australia as a member of the Barbarians side to play the Wallabies at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday night.
"I wouldn't have been able to go to the club without trying to make it the way I wanted it and in the end I just knew it wouldn't be a good fit."
Clearly the in-form blindside flanker had reservations about the quality of the team Queensland was assembling for 2010, although he insisted he had made his decision to break off talks before learning Hugh McMeniman had quit the Reds to take up a lucrative contract in Japan.
So late did Elsom leave it to walk away from the Queensland deal - and the $100,000 in third-party payments that Reds sponsors were prepared to give him - that he left himself no time to negotiate with his former province, NSW.
"I had a few time pressures when I was doing the deal. In hindsight, I probably gave too much time to Queensland. But I was very happy with the way the Brumbies handled the deal and I like the direction they're heading in."
Indeed, now that his name will be entered on the team sheet along with Matt Giteau, George Smith, Stirling Mortlock, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Josh Valentine and quite possibly teenage prodigy James O'Connor, the Brumbies have at their disposal the nucleus of a team quite capable of challenging the new Super 14 champion, the Bulls.
"That's the plan, to give the Bulls a shake," Elsom said.
Indeed, Elsom regrets he will have to wait until next season to take on the Bulls, wishing that the much-discussed global grand final between the Super 14 champion and the northern hemisphere's Heineken Cup winner had not been turned into a reality.
"Leinster versus the Bulls ...yeah, if ever there was a chance to do it, it would have been now, except for the fact that the British and Irish Lions are now touring South Africa," said Elsom, the man of the match in Leinster's European Cup final victory over Leicester nine days ago.
"But a grand final is definitely something they should organise."
Elsom, who scored a try in the Barbarians' 33-26 victory over England at Twickenham, warned the Wallabies the Baa-Baas would be a difficult team to handle.
"It's a good side we've got," Elsom said.
"Obviously our preparations for this match aren't necessarily ideal but we gave England a good shake and it will be interesting to see how we go against the Wallabies. That will be a unique experience from my perspective."
Still, after lining up against the gold jerseys, he hopes to be wearing one the following weekend when Australia begins its 2009 Test campaign in Canberra against an Italian side that very much has an Australian flavour.
Former Brisbane Norths premier rugby five-eighth Kris Burton, now with Italy's Prato club, was named yesterday as replacement for the injured Andrea Marcato, joining fellow north Queenslander Luke McLean and former rugby league international Craig Gower in the Azzuri squad.
The Australian
Well, that just leaves James O'Connor... :lol:
June 02, 2009 [/i]
Rocky Elsom said the realisation that he and Queensland Reds would not be a good fit prompted him to break off negotiations with the side, opening the way for him to sign with the Brumbies and the Australian Rugby Union.
From the outset the Reds had been favourites to recruit Elsom on his return from his eight-month stint with Heineken Cup champions Leinster, so much so that the 40-Test blindside flanker had insisted he would talk to no other province as long as the Queensland deal proceeded smoothly.
But almost from that point, negotiations became strained and while Elsom refused to divulge precisely where his planned move to Ballymore went off the rails, he admitted he had not seen eye-to-eye with Queensland officials.
"We had a difference of opinion over the direction of the club and ultimately had I gone there that would have been divisive," said Elsom, who has returned to Australia as a member of the Barbarians side to play the Wallabies at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday night.
"I wouldn't have been able to go to the club without trying to make it the way I wanted it and in the end I just knew it wouldn't be a good fit."
Clearly the in-form blindside flanker had reservations about the quality of the team Queensland was assembling for 2010, although he insisted he had made his decision to break off talks before learning Hugh McMeniman had quit the Reds to take up a lucrative contract in Japan.
So late did Elsom leave it to walk away from the Queensland deal - and the $100,000 in third-party payments that Reds sponsors were prepared to give him - that he left himself no time to negotiate with his former province, NSW.
"I had a few time pressures when I was doing the deal. In hindsight, I probably gave too much time to Queensland. But I was very happy with the way the Brumbies handled the deal and I like the direction they're heading in."
Indeed, now that his name will be entered on the team sheet along with Matt Giteau, George Smith, Stirling Mortlock, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Josh Valentine and quite possibly teenage prodigy James O'Connor, the Brumbies have at their disposal the nucleus of a team quite capable of challenging the new Super 14 champion, the Bulls.
"That's the plan, to give the Bulls a shake," Elsom said.
Indeed, Elsom regrets he will have to wait until next season to take on the Bulls, wishing that the much-discussed global grand final between the Super 14 champion and the northern hemisphere's Heineken Cup winner had not been turned into a reality.
"Leinster versus the Bulls ...yeah, if ever there was a chance to do it, it would have been now, except for the fact that the British and Irish Lions are now touring South Africa," said Elsom, the man of the match in Leinster's European Cup final victory over Leicester nine days ago.
"But a grand final is definitely something they should organise."
Elsom, who scored a try in the Barbarians' 33-26 victory over England at Twickenham, warned the Wallabies the Baa-Baas would be a difficult team to handle.
"It's a good side we've got," Elsom said.
"Obviously our preparations for this match aren't necessarily ideal but we gave England a good shake and it will be interesting to see how we go against the Wallabies. That will be a unique experience from my perspective."
Still, after lining up against the gold jerseys, he hopes to be wearing one the following weekend when Australia begins its 2009 Test campaign in Canberra against an Italian side that very much has an Australian flavour.
Former Brisbane Norths premier rugby five-eighth Kris Burton, now with Italy's Prato club, was named yesterday as replacement for the injured Andrea Marcato, joining fellow north Queenslander Luke McLean and former rugby league international Craig Gower in the Azzuri squad.
The Australian
Well, that just leaves James O'Connor... :lol:
