KEY POINTS:
All Blacks halfback Jimmy Cowan feels rugby has been his saviour as he continues to try to put alcohol-related troubles behind him.
"At the moment rugby is my saviour, I let that do the talking," Cowan said.
"That's how I express my expressions," he told the Southland Times newspaper ahead of today's expected appearance in Invercargill District Court on a disorderly behaviour charge.
Cowan has been in strong form for the All Blacks since management showed faith in him despite off-field problems which led to his arrest in Invercargill in May.
That incident was one of several involving Cowan that police have investigated this year.
Cowan said he viewed the fallout from his arrest as a wakeup call and he was determined that it would not be repeated.
"If I'm representing the All Blacks I'm an All Black 24/7, so I've got to realise that I can't be out at the wee small hours of the morning and doing what I was doing, and that's probably come to my senses now.
"If I get those things corrected I'll be a better man for it."
He admitted he had made wrong decisions when drinking but said he was addressing that.
That has included taking on a ban set down by the All Blacks management to refrain from drinking throughout the Tri-Nations series this year.
Cowan said he believed it would be "down the track" when his alcohol issues would be really tested.
"It's only been two months and I think this is the easy part. It's going to be later down the track when it's six to nine months when things will get tough.
"You know, it's easy for me to sit here now and say I'm clean and I haven't done this and I haven't done that, but it's not that easy. I am happy with where I'm at the moment, though.
"Rugby's probably been my saviour because I was pretty close to losing it at one stage."
- NZPA
