Im not going to talk about the curfew time or how long they were up. What I will say is it was certainly more than two hours over the time that we discussed as a group. The guys went back to the room and carried on. I think there was a bit of leftover [alcohol] downstairs and they have obviously taken it upstairs with them.
There wasnt talk about sending them home. Weve got a big squad [of] 42 players 39 understood the importance of getting together and getting connected and having a quiet beer. Three guys lacked the discipline required beyond that.
Asked how he was alerted to the drinking session, Rennie revealed a senior player had come forward.
We got alerted via our manager … who was alerted by one of the senior players, Rennie said.
We certainly informed [the leadership group] and they were supportive of the decision.
Rennie defended the four-day delay in making the news public. He said the team was informed on Monday of the decision to stand down the three.
It is the first disciplinary issue Rennie has had to deal with in his time as Wallabies coach.
Originally we were just going to announce it tomorrow [Thursday], Rennie said.
For the good of the team, if you sweep this sort of thing under the carpet it bites you in the backside later on. Everyone has a clear understanding regardless of your standing in the team. There is an expectation of behaviour and these three guys didnt reach that.
Their heads were down but they apologised to the team … theyve let the boys down. Theyve got to earn the trust and respect of those boys again and thats through what they do rather than what they say.
The news comes at a very bad time for Australian rugby, less than 24 hours after it emerged Rugby Australia was investigating the behaviour of mens sevens players returning home from the Tokyo Olympics.
Sevens representatives were intoxicated on the flight and an investigation is under way.
Rennie does not believe the incident will affect the performance of a team aiming to break a 35-year drought at Eden Park.
It wont have a detrimental effect on performance, Rennie said. If anything, itll galvanise us.
Its a frustration for me personally because weve wasted a lot of time dealing with the players.
RA chief executive Andy Marinos said: While we also acknowledge that this is a minor incident, I applaud Dave and the team for taking such an open and transparent approach.
Rennie remained tight-lipped about whether Quade Cooper would be named in Australias 23 for the Bledisloe opener.
Tell you tomorrow, Rennie said.
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