The Wallaby culture needs rebuilding and Ewen McKenzie has made the right call in standing down six players for the Test against Scotland.
There’s no denying that standards have slipped in recent years. Several players were given a pass and repeated infringements were not heavily penalised – see James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale.
This led to some fractures within the Wallaby set-up.
This will not be the case under McKenzie it seems.
He has come down hard but it is the correct decision. Standards need to be set, and if they’re broken, penalties need to come. No-one should be spared or given special treatment.
Five players – Nick Cummins, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson and Liam Gill – will not appear against Scotland, while Paddy Ryan will miss the Wales game.
Five others – Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Saia Fainga’a, Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps – were handed written sanctions, while Scott Fardy, Mike Harris, Ben McCalman and Nic White received verbal sanctions.
This decision could cripple the Wallabies before their final two Tests at Murrayfield and Cardiff. The Australians seemed to be building some momentum after blitzing Italy and beating Ireland, but this could dissipate immediately.
But in taking the action he has, McKenzie has signalled that he won’t sacrifice standards and team discipline for results. He won’t go soft to make sure the Wallabies win. He is demonstrating clearly that the Wallaby jersey is an honour and those who wear it have to live up to certain high standards.
Are these standards too high?
That is the contentious issue. Rugby and drinking go hand in hand.
The game they play in heaven has long had a drinking culture and there is nothing unusual about a group of young Australian men having a few beers while overseas and experiencing the local nightlife.
No-one was arrested, no-one was assaulted, there was no incident or violence perpetuated, and they played well a few days later – so many will be asking, where’s the harm?
The thing is, professional rugby is not amateur rugby and this is the very top echelon of the sport.
Times have changed. We might not agree with them, but it’s a fact.
These players might have broken an internal rule, but it’s a rule nonetheless.
And if McKenzie hadn’t acted he would have shown to have been incredibly toothless.
In 2013 the Wallabies have been both sloppy on the field and off it.
Cleaning up the off-field stuff and improving the team’s standards will help improve on the park.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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