League: Bennett launches booze attack on Stuart

Former test coach Wayne Bennett has launched a scathing attack on his replacement Ricky Stuart, after claims of binge drinking engulfed the Kangaroos rugby league tour.

Bennett was forced to defend his regime as test coach yesterday after a report claiming Stuart was selected as his replacement to help change a poor drinking culture in the team.

Kangaroos manager John Hayes reportedly claimed in his post-tour review that there was a binge-drinking problem within the team who were thumped 24-0 by the Kiwis in the Tri-Nations final last month.

Australian Rugby League (ARL) chairman Colin Love denied this was the case but Bennett still hit back yesterday and in the process fired a heavy salvo at Stuart, The Daily Telegraph reported today.

"First of all, Ricky wanted the job when I got it years ago and, you know, he wouldn't have got the job if I didn't resign the other day," Bennett told Brisbane's 4BC radio station.

"So the ARL weren't out there looking for a different approach. If you look at the track record of Sydney Roosters players where Ricky coaches, there's been a few of them in a fair bit of trouble."

Bennett said later in the interview: "I'll go another step further. You know, last year Ricky was NSW coach. They had four guys on security fulltime with that team to make sure they behaved themselves.

"Well, I had no one on security with me on our team to make sure our players behaved themselves.

"I'm trying to change the culture. I have been for at least five years now -- at our club, with the Broncos.

"I'm sick of the drunks. I'm sick of our game being dragged through every media outlet in the country every time some guy behaves badly... because he's affected by alcohol.

"Our game has never been in more disrepute in the last three years because of player behaviour. And if coaches and journalists and officials think we can continue to have a culture in our game of drinking to excess, then they live in fairy world."

Stuart was unavailable to comment yesterday and his manager John Fordham did not want to comment.

Love said it was wild exaggeration to suggest extensive binge drinking had regularly occurred on tour.

"Players and officials I've spoken to said it was the quietest tour of all time," Love said.

"I was there myself as ARL chairman for the final two weeks and I saw no binge drinking."

Hayes said in his report he found the amount of alcohol players drank on nights out more than he expected but he said the players co-operated fully with Bennett's regulations.

"The report says the players did not drink at all during the week," Love said.

"I'm aware members of the team relaxed over drinks on the final night when their commitments were over. But I imagine that has been happening with sporting teams for the past 100 years."

- NZPA