Disgraced All Black Jimmy Cowan has been cleared to take his place in the squad for Saturday's test against South Africa, though he has been fined $NZ3000 and ordered to cease drinking as a condition of his employment after an NZRU misconduct hearing in Wellington today.
News of Cowan's "punishment" emerged after a hearing that went on into the late afternoon. Earlier All Blacks coach Graham Henry had spoken of his "disappointment" and "annoyance" over the continued bad behaviour of his second-string halfback who has been involved in three disorderly conduct incidents in the last few months.
The New Zealand Rugby Union confirmed it had demanded Cowan stop drinking as a condition of his ongoing employment and said this was his "last chance" to get his act together.
As well as his fine, he was also ordered to seek alcohol counselling after three charges had been laid for disorderly behaviour in recent weeks. The union confirmed Cowan had faced an additional charge that was laid today by police in Dunedin.
"I thank the NZRU, my All Black team-mates, All Black management, my family and friends for their ongoing support. I'm very fortunate to be given another chance. This is my problem - nobody else's.
"I'm currently in the process of taking steps to fix it," said a contrite Cowan outside the NZRU building at the end of his hearing.
All Blacks manager Darren Shand said the NZRU considered a range of penalties and determined that addressing Cowan's alcohol abuse was the most relevant action: "Jimmy must change his behaviour if he wants to be a professional rugby player in New Zealand. We have made it a condition of his employment that he stop drinking altogether. This is his last chance."
He added: "We take the matter very seriously and considered other penalties. However, in light of Jimmy's willingness to acknowledge his problem and seek help for it we decided that what was most important that we address the problem openly and deal with it rather than pushing it to one side."
Cowan's compliance with all conditions of the agreement reached today will be monitored by the NZRU with formal reviews scheduled periodically.
The halfback remains with the All Blacks squad and will be the reserve halfback for Saturday's Tri-Nations opener in Wellington.
The NZRU said it typically waited until after court proceedings before considering misconduct hearings for contracted players. But it intervened after Cowan's second charge on Sunday. "The repeated incidents in a short period of time just reinforce our decision to take urgent action," said Shand.
Cowan has been charged three times for disorderly behaviour between April and June, the NZRU said. The latest charge was laid today by Dunedin police.
Henry also spoke out about his "annoyance" at Cowan's behavioural issues and subsequent misconduct hearing just days out from the test against the world champions.
Henry said the All Blacks management had had numerous discussions about Cowan's situation.
The disgraced international was arrested in Invercargill at the weekend for disorderly behaviour following a late-night drinking session, the second of three incidents the nuggety halfback has been involved in.
"It's disappointing, annoying ... disruptive is a good word," said Henry when asked about Cowan's situation at Tuesday's team naming press conference.
Henry said he had personal discussions with Cowan about the matter but would not elaborate about the content of the tete-a-tete.
"That's between Jimmy Cowan and myself really," he said, repeating the "annoyed" and "disappointed" lines with a face that reflected those feelings.
Henry confirmed that input from the All Blacks' management was presented at the misconduct hearing.
Henry was asked about Cowan's checkered past on the behaviour front, and the national coach conceded there had been "a couple" of incidents. But he added they had generally taken place outside the All Blacks environment.
The All Blacks coach said the latest situation with Cowan had seen team management re-emphasise to players the need for behaviour and discipline while part of the national team.
"More and more this team emphsises those sort of things," said Henry.
"We are doing our level best to ensure our environment is the best it can be. And we will continue to do that.
"You have got young men who sometimes don't make the right decisions and perhaps have got personal problems that need to be dealt with. But it doesn't take our focus away from trying to do what we can in that area.
"Obviously we have got some challenges there. We need to keep on working at it."
