Wynne Gray: Union net vital for Guildford

Zac Guildford needs some guidance. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Some All Blacks don't drink while others were very tired and emotional after their World Cup success.

They needed regular rest periods during the triumphal street parades while others appeared to be fuelled on something other than good spirits during bursts of mid-procession energy.

Several were rebuked for getting on the sauce during the tournament while there was a day or three when some of the staff were fragile after victories.

We understood all that, we accepted the need for celebration during the high stresses of the tournament.

But when Zac Guildford carried on and delivered enough acts of public nuisance to be incarcerated on holiday in Rarotonga, he went over the line. Had it been anyone else you suspect there would not have been the same "fly home and get yourself sorted" leniency.

The rugby union stepped in and said it would work closely with the 22-year-old to get him through his troubles. Guildford has undergone some counselling and the wing has been banned from the first four games in next year's Super 15, three of which are pre-season matches.

There has been a fair bit of delusion throughout this Guildford saga.

Those with some knowledge reckon Guildford and others have over-indulged and under-behaved for some time and with some impunity in their provincial backyard. The NZRU had to make at least one trip north last year to admonish the wing and arrange excuses and reparations after another of his binges.

It went on again this year. After the Bledisloe Cup in Auckland and in Brisbane, Guildford drank to excess among other in-house transgressions. It seemed strange they chose him with that form let alone his modest test work, for the World Cup. The selectors had their reasons.

Then Guildford really let loose in Raro. He needs help and is getting it. Others in the All Blacks like Jimmy Cowan and Sitiveni Sivivatu have had similar assistance while some of their comrades have been fortunate to avoid public strife.

Some would like to think Guildford is a role model. He is not. He is a young man who plays rugby for a job on the global stage where he is surrounded by a whole new set of challenges. The All Blacks are sponsored by Steinlager, the green bottles are freely available.

That is obviously not healthy for Guildford but we are told he wants and is getting help.

There may be further stumbles and we have to hope there is a safety net waiting for him once more. He has a disease and needs help just like his teammates who strain hamstrings, suffer knee injuries or damage backs. Alcoholism is not an occupational hazard which afflicts everyone in a team or at the office but those who suffer need help and guidance.