Publican and former Test prop Bill Young has lamented the demise of an old-fashioned mid-week beer on Wallabies tours.
Coach Ewen McKenzie has slapped a number of players with one-match bans and official reprimands after he said they had been drinking excessively and broke curfew.
McKenzie has defended himself against accusations of over-reaction amid claims a number of players are upset at the heavy-handed penalties given out and already the affair is trending as “Guinnessgate” on Twitter.
But either way Young, the second most capped Wallabies prop of all-time with 46 Tests including the 2003 World Cup final, said the move likely put an end to any more mid-week bonding sessions on tour.
“I think it is great to see the boys bonding and enjoying a drink together,” he told AAP.
“It’s part of what being in a team is all about. Some of my best memories are of having a beer with the boys.
“We had a saying ‘Drink up and Front Up’ – you could have a drink during the week as long as you were ready to go when game time came around … and that is what they did.
“They played well on the weekend so the night out didn’t seem to affect how they played.”
But Young, who owns the Concord Hotel in Sydney and The Palace Hotel in Mortlake, said he understood that if team rules were broken the players had to be punished.
“It doesn’t sound like they went over board either. It doesn’t sound like they had too many.
“They were just having a good time. But rules are rules and that is the team protocol and if that is the case then it is understandable that they have been punished,” he said.
“A mid-week beer was always on in our day but I guess the times have changed and you have to move with them.
“They don’t seem to have done any harm but the rules are the rules and if they have been broken you have to pay the price.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Written off ahead of the weekend in several quarters, the Crusaders have responded with full vengeance after smashing the fourth-placed Rebels 39-0 in an…
Ned Hanigan is one of the in-form forwards in Australian rugby who looks set to finally turn promise into quality on the international stage,…
As calls grow for the entire Rugby Australia board to be overthrown, new chairman Daniel Herbert described the agitators behind the movement as hypocrites…
Three things in the world of rugby have caught my eye this week, and got me thinking very hard about the way forward, and…
Amid a week of soul-searching for Stephen Larkham’s men, the Brumbies have received a massive boost ahead of Saturday’s home clash against the ladder-leading…
Jordan Petaia may have played his last match for the Reds, with the off-contract Wallabies back to miss the rest of the Super Rugby…
