Wallabies and NSW Waratahs halfback Nick Phipps has been fined $4,000 after admitting to urinating on a bar during his buck’s night, an act he said made him look “a goose” and “a bloody idiot”.
Dressed in a cow suit, Phipps was taken out of Sydney’s Woollahra Hotel on Saturday, 21 April for an incident he said he had little memory of. A NSW Waratahs review and investigation of the incident found the reported events to be true and accurate.
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“The player has been fined $4,000, which will be donated to the NSW Positive Rugby Foundation to support community rugby activities,” NSW Waratahs’ CEO Andrew Hore said in a statement.
“Phipps’ role as state club captain of the NSW Waratahs has also been suspended and his reinstatement to this role will be monitored by the organisation. He will be served with a notice relating to a breach of the organisation’s code of conduct policy.”
Hore said Rugby Australia supported the decision and sanction. Earlier in the day, Phipps said he would not fight any sanction and had spoken to RA about the incident.
“They’ve voiced their displeasure, they’re not very happy it, which is understandable,” said Phipps, who had already apologised to the publican in the days after the incident.
On Tuesday, a contrite Phipps fronted the media and said he also apologised to team-mates, the Waratahs organisation and their commercial partners, the staff and patrons at the Woollahra Hotel and supporters for any embarrassment the incident may have caused.
Phipps said he took his responsibility as one of the senior players in the team very seriously. “I certainly remember just after the incident and beforehand, so it was obviously something that happened for a few seconds and then the boys grabbed me and after that it was out of the pub and back home,” Phipps said.
“I’m a goose, if I’m going to do the crime, I’ll definitely pay the time. It’s always been in my character to stand up and accept the responsibility. I was a bloody idiot. It’s one of those things I wanted to front straight away and get the apology out there and make sure that everyone knows how sorry I am.”
It has been a difficult start to the season for 29-year-old Phipps, who didn’t play his first game of the campaign until the Waratahs seventh match, due to a calf injury he suffered a few weeks before the Super Rugby season commenced.
He has come off the bench behind Jake Gordon in his first two games since being passed fit to return.
The Waratahs host the Blues at Brookvale Oval on Saturday and are bidding to break a 36-game winning streak by New Zealand teams against Australian opposition.