Big night out lands All Blacks in hot water

A tough honesty session in the wake of a boozy night out by some All Blacks rugby players helped spur them to a dominant 41-3 win over Wales today, manager Darren Shand claimed.

The Sunday Star-Times today reported several All Blacks went on an all-night drinking session last weekend, a day after arriving in Britain for their Grand Slam bid.

Team management refused to name the players, who were understood to have travelled halfway to London after closing time to continue drinking, then returned to their plush Cardiff hotel in time for breakfast on the Sunday morning.

Shand said none of the players was fined and that a curfew wouldn't be imposed for the rest of the tour -- instead they had to front up to their teammates.

"We dealt with it internally -- they were answerable to their peers which they found very challenging," Shand said after the Wales match here today.

"Some of them found it very difficult and it probably galvanised us to set the attitude and push on and do a good job today.

"This group's not about setting rules and punishing people and catching each other out, it's about growing people.

"If we're to put curfews on or fine them, nothing changes. We're determined to make these guys better people and help them make better decisions. We're going to go through some pain."

Those concerned were confronted by senior players at a team disciplinary session last Sunday.

One senior player, hooker Anton Oliver, wrote of his dislike for the booze culture in previous All Blacks teams in his recently-published book.

Shand said last weekend's issue was "pretty minor in the big scale of things".

The players had not got into any trouble on the night out, they were not heavily intoxicated, and their biggest crime appeared to be that they were out late.

"We've got a good four weeks of tough test matches and it was disappointing they chose to prepare that way," Shand said.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry said he was "disappointed" but the issue had not influenced his selections for today's match.

"But if it happens again it could become a selection issue," he said.

"Being an All Black is a huge honour and great privilege, and with that comes enormous responsibility.

"We are trying to develop a culture in the team that develops individual responsibility and if they do go out late and have a few drinks that they make the right decisions.

"But from time to time they make the wrong ones, like they did on Saturday night obviously."

All Blacks have good behaviour clauses in their contracts, and Henry said none of the players was in breach of those conditions.

- NZPA