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Dissapointing especially with Ready having prior form but good to see the player group drawing a line in the sand and own and drive team standards and culture, and for the players involved taking responsibility:
Full Article
Two Super Rugby players have been banned and a third is facing disciplinary action after drinking two glasses of wine with dinner on a plane
The Western Force have stood down two players and will sanction another for drinking on the flight from Melbourne to Perth last weekend.
In a bold marker for the team culture, the senior leadership group led the decision to suspend hooker Andrew Ready and winger Byron Ralston from Friday’s game against Queensland Reds.
Veteran prop Greg Holmes was not stood down for the match because the Force have a shortage of options at tighthead, but a penalty for him will also be determined in the coming week.
The action was taken because the trio decided to drink wine with their meal on the flight from Melbourne to Perth last Sunday, after the Force had defeated the Rebels 28-3 in their round two Super Rugby clash, with a six-day turnaround for the Reds.
It means Ready and Ralston will miss the historic first match the Force plays in Perth this year, with 8000 spectators expected to attend in what will be the first sports event in Western Australia since their borders were opened to the other Australian states.
The Force’s general manager of rugby, Matt Hodgson, said there was no drunken behaviour by the three players on the flight, however their decision to drink alcohol was deemed unacceptable by teammates.
“They weren’t drunk or intoxicated on the plane, they each had one to two glasses of wine with their meals, but this was a player-led decision and it was determined that because we were wearing Force uniforms and with the short turnaround between games they shouldn’t have been drinking,” Hodgson said.
“This is very much part of setting the standards for the culture we’re trying to build here.
“And I can’t fault the reaction of the three players, they made the decision to stand themselves down from selection this week.
“They addressed the entire playing group on the first day back to training on Monday, apologised for their choices, and then ripped into training and really helped the guys who are stepping up to replace them.”
Ready and Ralston both came off the bench in last weekend’s emphatic win – Ralston scored a try on the bell to earn the Force a bonus point.
Their places on the bench will be taken by hooker Jack Winchester, and 21-year-old Kalgoorlie speedster Grason Makara, who will make his Super Rugby debut in front of his family members.
“It is a big honour to play for the Western Force, and this match is a huge occasion because it’s the 200th game for the club, and we are playing in front of the sea of blue,” Hodgson said.
Given the volatility around the Omicron outbreak, Force players left Perth last month and were unsure they’d get to play in their home city this season.
They moved their round one game from Perth to Canberra, and round four game against NSW Waratahs to Sydney.
But they’d kept the round three encounter against the Reds at home in the hope Covid would ease, and they’ll now get the chance to play in front of their local fans for the first time since hosting the Highlanders last May.
Hodgson said the team’s leadership group, led by captain Feleti Kaitu’u and experienced halfback Ian Prior, had been told by team management to “own and drive team standards and culture” in 2022..