Rugby:Danny Cipriani has been fined by Melbourne Rebels over a nightclub incident and warned that he will be stood down if he transgresses further.
Cipriani was fined one match payment for helping himself to a bottle of alcohol at a Prahran nightclub in the early hours of the morning after the Rebels’ heavy loss to the Waratahs in their inaugural Super 15 outing on February 18th.
Rebels coach Rod Macqueen said the penalty was determined by the club management with the approval of the players’s standards group.
“We’re all disappointed but I think it’s been handled well,” said Macqueen. “The players’ representatives have looked at that, they’ve basically supported the club on that and they’ve worked with Danny on it.
“I’m pleased that it’s been done in this way because Danny and the players are now working together, the players haven’t separated themselves from Danny.”
Asked whether Cipriani could stood down indefinitely if he reoffends, Macqueen said: “It would be depend what the misdemeanour is. But the reality is that should something like that happen again he would be standing down from the team which is putting the team culture in front of being a good player.”
There will be no special conditions placed on Cipriani, Macqueen said, and how he conducts his private life is up to him.
“We’ll be treating every one of the players equally and we’ll be treating them as adults,” said Macqueen. “If they don’t behave like adults then the repercussions will come.”
With the investigation into his nightclub misdemeanour pending, Cipriani kicked the Rebels to a breakthrough victory over the ACT Brumbies on Friday. He slotted six penalties, including the match-winner with just nine seconds left on the clock, in the 25-24 victory.
Cipriani released a statement in which he expressed regret over the incident.
“I have apologised for my actions and I regret any embarrassment my behaviour has caused for the Rebels,” the statement read. “I am looking forward, focusing on my rugby and contributing positively to the team’s culture. If anything else happens along these lines again, I have agreed with the players that I will stand down for an appropriate period of time.”
