Wallabies Lote Tuqiri and Matt Dunning have been given a midnight curfew for Australia's Rugby World Cup campaign after a controversial late-night drinking session, officials said yesterday.
Australian Rugby Union (ARU) boss John O'Neill said both players, who had a prior history of drinking-related incidents, had also received a formal warning about their conduct.
The curfew, which also covers training camps, applies only to Tuqiri and Dunning, and not to the rest of the Wallabies' squad to contest the World Cup in France starting next month.
The move came after the prop and the winger were questioned by police investigating an assault on a taxi driver outside their Brisbane hotel in the early hours of last Friday morning.
The pair were cleared of involvement but ARU officials were annoyed that they had returned from a nightclub to the hotel with a group including strangers, one of whom was later charged over the incident.
"The ARU has made it abundantly clear to both players how disappointed we are that they put themselves in harm's way and that the warning they have been issued should not be taken lightly," O'Neill said.
"Being a Wallaby is an honor, not a right. These individuals are looked up to by the community and there are high standards they are expected to meet," he said.
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