A man walks into a bar dressed as a cow… Nick Phipps has done well to try to draw a line under his antics at the Woollahra Hotel during his recent stag party but it won't be the end of the issue as his Waratahs team prepare for a high-stakes match against the Blues.
This game is no laughing matter for either team. Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson is unlikely to have pulled punches in reminding his players of their responsibilities as he seeks a rare win over a New Zealand team at Sydney's Brookvale Oval on Saturday, while Blues coach Tana Umaga and his team will probably be looking forward to escaping the spotlight in Auckland where they have lost all four matches this season.
Assuming the Crusaders, who have won their last five matches, beat the Rebels, who have lost their last four, in Melbourne on Friday, the Waratahs will be expected to snap what will be a 37-match losing streak by Australian teams against their New Zealand counterparts, an extraordinary run.
Phipps' recent costumed indiscretion – he has admitted urinating against the hotel bar while severely under the influence – is not a hanging offence by any means but it is a very unwelcome distraction for Gibson and the Waratahs whom have only just doused the raging media bushfire that was fullback Israel Folau's comments on social media regarding where he believes homosexuals are headed in the afterlife.
Phipps, who described himself as a "goose" at the Waratahs headquarters today, has rightly taken complete responsibility for his actions. "I was a bloody idiot," he said. "I want everyone to know how sorry I am."
