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Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie has suspended six of his players for a match, and warned nine others after a drinking binge last Tuesday night in Dublin.
Adam Ashley-Cooper, Benn Robinson, Nick Cummins, Tatafa Polota-Nau, Liam Gill, and Paddy Ryan copped a match each and will miss the Scotland game at the weekend, with the exception of Ryan who will serve his against Wales the following week,
Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Saia Fainga’a, Bernard Foley, and Nick Phipps were handed written warnings, while Scott Fardy, Mike Harris, Ben McCalman, and Nic White given verbal reprimands,
The binge was after a team dinner in Dublin, and McKenzie only found out about it late Wednesday.
So by the time he investigated all the details, it was too late to crack the whip for Ireland, so he waited until Sunday to dish out the punishments.
And all credit to him as the team culture was at stake, and McKenzie has made a positive move.
Had Robbie Deans done the same with the three amigos – Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale, and James O’Connor – and obviously others who have never been named, the Wallaby culture would have been a lot stronger for a lot longer.
What amazes me is that Ashley-Cooper, Robinson, and Polota-Nau, three of the Wallabies most senior players, were among the worst offenders.
Especially, Ashley-Cooper who hasn’t put a toe-nail out of place during his 90-cap career.
Just as amazing, Quade Cooper wasn’t among any of the offenders, just proving McKenzie has done a great job rehabbing the Queenslander to the extent of handing him the vice-captaincy.
It will be interesting to see Waratahs coach Michael Cheika’s reaction. Both coaches are ex-Randwick and Cheika is kindred spirit of McKenzie when it comes to discipline and team culture.
I’ll bet he’ll be spitting chips that more than half of the offenders – eight of 15 – were Waratahs.
His captain Dennis, Ashley-Cooper, Robinson, Polota-Nau, Ryan, Douglas, Foley, and Phipps were involved and all should have known better,
Ponder this.
All 15 knew their fate before the Ireland game. Could it be they were were so embarrassed by their own stupidity that they raised their performance bar?
Did it need the pending public rocket to get them to play to their ability for the first time this season?
We’ll never know, but it’s certainly a possibility, drastic as it may seem.
So Scotland takes on a new meaning, now we’ll see how Ewen McKenzie’s discipline really works.