LONDON: Australia coach Ewen McKenzie announced yesterday that six Wallaby players would receive one-match bans for “inappropriate” drinking.
McKenzie said wingers Adam Ashley Cooper and Nick Cummins; front-rowers Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson and Paddy Ryan; and back-rower Liam Gill had all drunk so much in the build-up to Australia’s 32-15 win over Ireland on Saturday they each deserved a one-match ban.
The suspensions will be served in this Saturday’s clash against Scotland at Murrayfield with the exception of Ryan, who will be banned from Australia’s European tour finale against Wales in Cardiff on November 30.
“Everyone in our squad is required to comply with and adhere to high standards of ethical conduct both on and off the field,” McKenzie said in an Australian Rugby Union statement.
“Those standards were compromised in the lead-up to Saturday’s victory over Ireland with a group of players making the decision to stay out late and consume inappropriate levels of alcohol during the early hours of Wednesday morning.”
Ryan’s delayed suspension is due to International Rugby Board regulations requiring each match day squad to contain at least four props.
With only five props chosen in Australia’s 32-man touring squad, one of either Robinson or Ryan is required to participate against Scotland and Wales.
In addition, McKenzie also sanctioned a further nine players for “breaches of internal team protocols”, with punishments determined by the “severity of the infraction” and on expectations of those players included in the matchday 23 to play Ireland.
Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Saia Fainga’a, Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps all received written warnings, while Scott Fardy, Mike Harris, Ben McCalman and Nic White were all spoken to by team chiefs.
McKenzie insisted he wasn’t responding to any external complaint.
“Let’s be clear -- these are internal sanctions and aren’t a result of any complaints or reports of inappropriate or sinister behaviour while our players were out,” he said.
“We’ve done this because we need to continually reinforce the need for our players to make smart decisions to benefit the team. Doing nothing to address poor behaviour will never be an option,” McKenzie, who replaced Robbie Deans as Australia coach following the series loss to the British and Irish Lions in July, said.
“We’ve taken on the challenge of re-defining our team culture,” added McKenzie. AFP
