Wallabies rugby star Lote Tuqiri's month looks set to get worse, with reports he faces a A$10,000 ($11,400) fine for his part in the Peter Hewat phone call scandal.
The Sunday Telegraph reported Tuqiri fronted an Australian Rugby Union (ARU) disciplinary committee on Friday.
The incident happened during
a Waratahs end-of-season drinking session when Tuqiri put his cellphone on loudspeaker after calling Wallabies selector Michael O'Connor, who went on to outline fullback Hewat's on-field shortcomings. He was unaware Hewat was listening in.
Hewat, unwanted by the Wallabies, reportedly stormed out of the bar and is seeking a release from his Waratahs contract to play overseas.
The Telegraph reported ARU management regarded Tuqiri's phone call to O'Connor as a serious breach of the players' code of conduct. Tuqiri, who recently signed a five-year deal worth A$5 million to stay in rugby, has publicly apologised for his actions.
An embarrassed O'Connor tried to downplay the latest developments.
"It's become a real saga and I just don't want to throw any fuel on it. The bottom line is it was a conversation that I had with Lote and obviously I didn't think anybody else was privy to it," he said.
Tuqiri got some further bad news last week when Wallabies coach John Connolly confirmed his star winger would miss the upcoming two tests against Wales to work on increasing his speed.
"Lote was one that we could get a big improvement with a revised training programme, so he will sit out the first two tests," Connolly said. "He came back from the Super 14 and Jase [Wallabies' physical performance manager Jason Weber] had a look at him and said we have really got to capture some speed back and have a long-term view."
Tuqiri scored just one try in the Super 14 this year, in the Waratahs' last match of the season against the Hurricanes.
He was sent home from a World Cup training camp after failing a fitness test in January, then later admitted that six months of contract negotiations had affected his Super 14 form.
- NZPA, AAP
