Waratah Latu fined, loses licence after being found drunk and asleep at the wheel

Passers by were forced to break into the car of Waratahs hooker Tolu Latu as it rolled forward at an intersection with him drunk and asleep at the wheel in Sydney last month.

Latu, 26, was fined $1300 and lost his licence for a further three months on Friday after pleading guilty to drink driving and driving on a suspended licence.

Tolu Latu leaves court on Friday. Credit: AAP

According to police he was arrested in the early hours of May 16, drunk and asleep at the wheel of a moving car on Anzac Parade, one of the busiest roads in Sydney.

He is expected to be issued with a breach notice by Rugby Australia's integrity unit after the court process was finalised.

The 12-Test hooker has already served a two-game suspension for NSW and was excluded from a Wallabies’ pre-World Cup training camp, and will also miss the Waratahs’ final game of the season in Invercargill on Friday night.

Waratahs boss Andrew Hore said Latu's actions were "extremely" disappointing.

Day in court: Tolu Latu registered a blood alcohol reading of 0.135.Credit: James Brickwood

"Everyone at NSW Rugby Union is extremely disappointed with Tolu’s actions, but it’s pleasing to see he’s taking steps to address this behaviour through education and counselling," Hore said.

The court heard Latu had been dealing with personal issues, including the breakdown of a six-year relationship and the death of his uncle two months prior.

He had been drinking at the Milestone Hotel in Leichhardt on the evening of May 15 and walked back to his home in the early hours of May 16, his solicitor Shaun Titmarsh told the court. Latu then decided to drive his car to a friend’s house, Titmarsh said.

Police facts tendered in court said he made it to the intersection of Anzac Parade and Cleveland Street in Moore Park, where he passed out at the wheel while his Mitsubishi Outlander was stopped at a red light at about 4.30am.

Passers by noticed the car and tried to wake Latu, but could not rouse him and called police and paramedics. When it began rolling forward through the intersection, the passers by were forced to get into the car and stop it.

When police arrived they woke Latu, describing him as "well intoxicated", with "extremely slurred speech" and no knowledge of where he was.

Latu later blew a blood alcohol reading of 0.135, which Magistrate Daniel Covington noted was at the high end of mid-range.

Magistrate Covington took into account the penalties Latu had already suffered, that there were likely to be further sanctions, his standing as a role model in his community and his recent participation in a traffic offenders program.

Titmarsh told the court Latu financially supported his mother, was a youth worker at his church in Canterbury, had completed a certificate in social work and, with the help of his employers, had started seeing a counsellor to deal with his personal issues.

Latu told media outside court that he still hoped to be a role model to children.