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Australian rugby boss John O'Neill is planning on cracking the whip on the World Cup-bound Wallabies following concerns their late-night activities are sullying the team's reputation.
Two players, understood to be winger Lote Tuqiri and prop Matt Dunning, were questioned and cleared by police of any involvement in
the early morning bashing of a Brisbane taxi driver.
The incident came the day after the Wallabies had completed a boot camp in Queensland ahead of next month's Rugby World Cup in France.
Police said no footballers were believed responsible for the attack and the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said no Wallaby players were involved.
But ARU chief executive O'Neill said the players had placed themselves in a position that compromised the reputation of the two-time World Cup winners.
"Players must be more conscious of not placing themselves in harms way," O'Neill said in a statement.
"While they may not have done anything wrong, they have clearly placed themselves in a position where their reputations and that of the Wallabies have been compromised.
"I plan on addressing the entire squad before it leaves for the World Cup in France and Wales on the importance of keeping themselves and the Wallaby name unblemished."
The incident follows O'Neill's decision last month to increase a suspension on Tuqiri from one to two matches after the superstar breached team standards by missing a team medical appointment and recovery session following a night out in Sydney.
The incident also highlighted the apparent divide between O'Neill and Wallabies coach John Connolly.
O'Neill's strong statements demonstrated a clear attempt to clean up the sport's image after returning to the top job only two months ago.
Meanwhile, Connolly tried to play down the incident.
"These guys were in their own time, it's their private time and they've been cleared of any incident," Connolly told AAP.
"They've done nothing wrong, they've just had six days in camp, they've got five days break.
"Obviously putting themselves in the position sometimes is dangerous but you can say that these guys didn't put themselves in that position.
"They went home, their behaviour was first class and if something happens an hour after, they weren't anywhere near it."
It is understood Dunning and Tuqiri had been at a nightclub with Brisbane Broncos fullback Karmichael Hunt and two other unnamed people - who are not associated with the Wallabies squad - before going back to Dunning's hotel room.
Fox Sports quoted an ARU source saying the two unnamed associates later went downstairs and it was after that the incident allegedly took place.
The Wallaby players remained upstairs and it is not believed that Hunt was interviewed by police.
The Wallabies squad will leave Australia for the World Cup on August 23.
Tuqiri and Dunning have both been disciplined in the past by the Wallabies for off-field breaches.
Tuqiri was fined and banned last month and also involved in a nightclub clash in Cape Town with team-mate Matt Henjak in July 2005.
Dunning was fined in August 2006 after a late night incident in which a taxi was damaged, and was also involved in the Tuqiri-Henjak incident in South Africa.
- AAP
