The Crooked Feed
An inappropriate tipple
Richard Seeckts
November 18, 2013
Irish fans with a promise in Dublin ... but it was the Aussies who did the drinking © PA Photos
Enlarge

You have to laugh. Rugby's relationship with ale is as old as the sport itself and at the heart of many of the best stories and friendships the game has produced. It remains so for many involved, both actively and as spectators. At elite level, however, standards are different.

The current crop of Wallabies are not the first to be fall victim to Dublin's charms, but in the context of their poor record this year, the change of management regime and the sacking of James O'Connor for drink-related indiscretions, they have been remarkably thick.

"A group of players made the decision to stay out late and consume inappropriate levels of alcohol", according to Ewen McKenzie. Six of them banned for one match, five given a written reprimand and four a verbal reprimand.

So there must be three different levels of inappropriate levels of alcohol. How did McKenzie and his fun-police know that some players' consumption of the local brew was more inappropriate than others?

It seems appropriate enough that the players involved set out to knock back something black and stout, but finished on the losing side again.

Australia will be slightly weakened for the Scotland match, which probably won't matter. We'll never know if McKenzie would have issued suspensions for a match against tougher opponents.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices