Former All Blacks manager Andrew Martin has slammed the binge-drinking culture which he believes is ingrained in New Zealand rugby.
In his opening address to the three-day Sport and Alcohol conference at Massey University yesterday, Martin said for the most part, former coach John Hart and his immediate successor Wayne Smith had good control of the All Blacks' after-match drinking habits.
Martin served as All Blacks manager under Smith and had one year working with Smith's successor John Mitchell before his post was made redundant.
However, Martin claimed this disciplined approach to alcohol consumption soon evaporated during Mitchell's tenure.
"I couldn't come to grips with the fact that we were spending tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars, preparing this group of athletes ... yet at the same time we had people undoing an awful lot of good work which had been done by this quite strong thread of alcohol misuse."
While Martin understood the need for players to let their hair down after a win, he questioned the culture of excessive drinking which, it seems, is ingrained in New Zealand rugby.
He believes New Zealanders have yet to work out how to include alcohol in their everyday lives.
"The ability to get pissed and fall down is regarded as rite of passage both in New Zealand and Australia," Martin said.
Martin acknowledged it wouldn't be easy changing this culture, but pointed to a few changes already happening within the All Blacks.
More players are now prepared to have a quiet couple of drinks over a meal after a test and on occasion have been known to hold regular family get-togethers.
While educating players on having a disciplined attitude to alcohol is important, Martin said the New Zealand media needed to play its part in the coverage of their alcohol-related episodes.
"I'm quite cynical of the media and their reporting of sporting incidents off the field. Why? What does that add to the debate, what does that add to educating the New Zealand public?"
Martin said newspapers and other media outlets sensationalised drinking binges by high-profile sports people purely to drive up ratings and readership.
- NZPA
