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Wallabies hooker Tolu Latu could face a maximum penalty of 9 months in prison

Tolu Latu of the Wallabies. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Wallabies hooker Tolu Latu has pleaded guilty to drink driving without a valid licence two days before a vital clash between his NSW Waratahs team and the Queensland Reds.

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Latu, who has played 12 Tests for the Wallabies, appeared in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday and admitted both offences, according to court documents.

The 26-year-old had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.135 and was driving on a suspended licence when he was nabbed behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Outlander at Moore Park in Sydney about 4.30am on May 16.

Two days later, the 110-kilogram hooker played off the Waratahs bench as they defeated the Reds 40-32 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Rugby Australia and the NSW Rugby Union only found out about the incident on the day of the game after being contacted by a Sydney news organisation.

Latu, who was later stood down from playing pending the court outcome, took full responsibility for the incident days after it happened.

In a statement issued by NSWRU he apologised to teammates and the rugby community.

“I’m disappointed with my actions because I recognise the seriousness of this situation,” he said at the time.

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Latu is due to be sentenced on June 14.

If convicted for the mid-range drink driving offence, Latu faces a maximum penalty of nine months in prison, a fine of $2220 and a lengthy licence suspension.

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Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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