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The NZRU is standing behind All Black Ma'a Nonu after he was given police diversion on a charge of breaching Wellington's liquor ban - the second occasion he has walked free on an alcohol-related charge.
Chief executive Steve Tew rubbished suggestions Nonu had been treated leniently by the courts because he was an All Black, saying: "We've made it crystal-clear our players should be treated like everybody else. The police made it very clear that they didn't treat Nonu any different from anybody else."
It is believed Nonu was charged after getting out of a vehicle in Wellington with a bottle of alcohol in his hand.
"He happened to walk into the wrong part of town," said Tew. "That's a mistake. We're not crying away from that. No excuses."
Tew believed high-profile players were unfairly singled out and that if all the diversions granted to members of the public were reported, "they would fill quite a few pages".
"They (players) are under 24 hours scrutiny. Our guys don't have the benefit of confidentiality."
It is the second time the Hurricanes player has been given diversion - the first was after being charged with disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest after a scuffle outside a bar in 2004.
Garth McVicar from the Sensible Sentencing Trust said it appeared rugby stars were being treated with "kid gloves".
"With diversion I don't have a problem the first time around," said McVicar.
"But the second and third time and ongoing, diversion shouldn't be an option. It's not just Nonu, but these sorts of people in these positions."
Wellington Rugby CEO Greg Peters said he was satisfied with the treatment of the Hurricanes player.
"This is a very minor misdemeanour, which the police and the courts have dealt with appropriately. We do not believe it warrants any further disciplinary action from us."
Auckland University faculty of law associate professor Scott Optican said the whole issue of diversion was poorly understood and was handled different by different police forces.
"Whenever you have discretion in any system, it's open to abuse."
