Three Wallabies including Marika Koroibete won’t play the Bledisloe Cup opener in New Zealand after a breach of the team drinking policy

Carrying on drinking after a dinner in Auckland has cost three Wallabies big time with a clash against the All Blacks looming.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie declared his senior players were “pretty angry” and he was frustrated for wasting time dealing with a trio of players who have been banned from Saturday’s opening Bledisloe Cup clash for breaching team drinking protocols.

John Eales medallist Marika Koroibete, Pone Fa’amausili and Isi Naisarani drank for at least two hours after a team gathering at their Auckland hotel last weekend, organised to help them “get connected”, by taking alcohol to their rooms.

A senior player alerted senior Wallabies team management and Rennie had no hesitation issuing the ban.

It has made the task of ending the 35-year losing streak against the All Blacks at Eden Park that much harder, with Koroibete and Naisarani both starters in Rennie’s team.

But an “incredibly disappointed” Rennie said everyone associated with the Wallabies supported the decision.

“If you sweep this sort of thing under the carpet, it bites you in the backside later on,” Rennie said on Wednesday.

“Everyone has a clear understanding, regardless of your standing in the team, there’s an expectations of behaviour and these three guys didn’t reach that.

“We have a big squad here of 42 players and 39 understood the importance of getting together and getting connected and having a quiet beer. Three guys lacked the discipline required beyond that.

“There was no issues around behavior or damage or any complaints. But we’d finished downstairs, the expectation was to call it a night. These three boys went upstairs and carried on.

“We’d stated the importance of our preparation for the All Blacks, we all need to be at our very best … this didn’t fit with that mindset.

“I’m incredibly disappointed and a big chunk of our group is pretty angry so that’s why we have made the decision.”

It comes in the same week Rugby Australia was forced to investigate Australia’s rugby sevens Olympians amid reports they were intoxicated and causing disruptions on their flight home from Tokyo.

Rennie said there was no suggestion the three banned Wallabies would be sent home with Australia set to play a second Bledisloe Cup clash against the All Blacks at Eden Park next Saturday.

But Rennie couldn’t guarantee the players, who were all teammates at the Melbourne Rebels this year, would be recalled for the second match.

“They apologised to the team, they know they have let the boys down,” he said.

“They have to earn the trust and respect of those boys again and that’s going to be through what they do rather than what they say.

“I’m going to judge them on their behavior and how they respond. It will also depend on the performance of others. If the team goes well and performs well, maybe we will go another week without them.”

Dave Rennie says players were angry that three Wallabies members broke protocol to carry on drinking.

Decision made by management, but leadership group supported standing down three players - two starters.https://t.co/jQBnZSWc2i

— Christy Doran (@ChristypDoran) August 4, 2021

Rennie said the incident would not be a distraction for Saturday’s clash, but had consumed more of his time then he would have liked.

“It’s a frustration for me personally because we have wasted a lot of time dealing with the players,” he said.

“The squad are really resilient. We made this announcement to the group on Monday, everyone understood the consequences, everyone was supportive of that.

“It won’t have a detrimental effect on performance,. If anything it will galvanise us.”

Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos said he supported the action taken.

“As an organisation, we expect the highest standards at all times. While we also acknowledge that this is a minor incident, I applaud Dave and the team for taking such an open and transparent approach,” Marinos said.

Originally published as Three Wallabies including Marika Koroibete won’t play the Bledisloe Cup opener in New Zealand after a breach of the team drinking policy