Wagons circle on Wallaby breaches
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Wayne Smith | June 25, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE Australian Rugby Union is refusing to release details of its investigation into alleged breaches of team protocol and its code of conduct, as rumours persist that Wallabies flouted team rules before and after Saturday's Italy Test in Melbourne.
A number of Wallabies, including wingers Lote Tuqiri and Peter Hynes and fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper, were reported to have entered Crown casino at 1.15am on Wednesday, less than four days before Hynes started on the left wing and Ashley-Cooper came off the bench to replace him, ultimately earning the man of the match award.
Tuqiri was not named in the match 22 and on Thursday returned to Sydney to play for West Harbour against Randwick. But if he is one of the players under investigation by the ARU, he could find himself in the deepest trouble of all.
The 67-Test veteran, reputedly Australian rugby's highest-paid player, was issued with a final warning letter after being involved in a late-night drinking session at the Wallabies' hotel in August 2007, after which one of his drinking companions allegedly assaulted a taxi driver.
He was placed under a one-man curfew throughout the World Cup campaign, but distinguished himself with his behaviour throughout the tournament.
But while he was used in nine of Australia's 14 Tests last year, he has not even been required as a bench player for any of the Wallabies' three matches so far this season and indications are only a rash of injuries might save his Test career.
His reported late-night visit to the casino came after the team for the Second Test against Italy had already been announced and so was not a factor in his exclusion. But certainly his continued relegation back to club rugby hints that he has lost support of the ARU top echelon.
There have also been reports of a post-Test drinking binge involving a number of players, but with team officials circling the wagons yesterday and the ARU insisting no details of its investigation would be made public - possibly for another day or two - there is endless scope for speculation.
The Wallabies, meanwhile, are intent on blitzing Saturday's one-off Test against France at ANZ Stadium - or as their opponents more eloquently are terming it "le Stade Olympique de Sydney" - right from the kickoff to take Gallic passion out of the equation.
"The more success the French have, the more it fires them up," Wallabies hooker Stephen Moore said yesterday.
"That's why the start is so important, because we have to knock that out of them."
Specifically, the Australians have focused on improving not just their speed to the breakdown but their physicality once over the ball to counteract French captain Thierry Dusautoir and fellow backrower Fulgence Ouedraogo, both of whom were brutally effective in Les Bleus' two Tests against the All Blacks over the past fortnight.
Compared to the way the French have cleaned out the breakdown, the Wallabies have been decidedly tame and they will need some of their key forwards, most especially second-rower James Horwill and number eight Richard Brown, to display some old-fashioned mongrel if they are to compete there on Saturday.
While the Wallabies have no doubt France will up the ante in terms of the physical contest, in the lead-up to the match the visitors seem to be intent on outdoing themselves in lavishing praise on their opponents.
Initially, the French camp was "only" suggesting the Wallabies were a superior team to the All Blacks but now Dusautoir has gone one step further.
"Australia is now the best team in the south, although South Africa impressed me against the Lions," Dusautoir told L'Equipe. "The Australians have very few weaknesses."
What weaknesses they once had are turning into strengths, with the recent form of winger Lachie Turner a prime example.
A year ago when he made his Test debut against France in Brisbane, the NSW flyer was scarcely spotted. But a year on he has caught the eye every time he has played for the Wallabies.
"He has definitely grown in confidence," Australia's skills coach Richard Graham said yesterday. "He is getting a lot more comfortable roving and looking for work."
