JOC stood down by Wallabies

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WALLABIES star James O'Connor has been suspended indefinitely over his bad behaviour.

Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie announced the decision that he has stood down the winger for ''failing to demonstrate and uphold the behavioural and cultural standards expected within the team".

O'Connor will not join his teammates when they assemble in Sydney on Saturday ahead of their two-game tour of South Africa and Argentina.

McKenzie said no time frame was being placed on O'Connor's selection availability.

"We won't be forced into making any decisions around his return until I'm satisfied that he can once again contribute positively to what we are trying to achieve as a group," McKenzie said.

"The reality is that representing your country is the ultimate honour but also a week-to-week proposition.  To be selected, players must consistently do the right things on and off the field.

"We'll continue to assess James on that basis before any team decisions are made about a return."

The Australian Rugby Union is continuing its investigation into an alleged incident involving O'Connor at Perth International Airport in the early hours of last Sunday.

Once completed, a decision on the next course of action will be taken.

"My views and expectations around team culture and behaviours, along with those of his teammates, are extremely clear and it's important for the Wallabies and rugby in general to be spoken about positively for the right reasons," McKenzie said.

"James and I had a long conversation around those expectations before the tournament commenced.

"As a result, and separate to the outcomes of the current investigation, James will not be joining us in Sydney tomorrow.

"We must put the team first without any distractions hindering them during a really tough two-game tour."

NSW Waratahs winger Peter Betham will replace O'Connor in the Qantas Wallabies 28-man playing squad.

See how Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie's announcement on James O'Connor unfolded in our Live Blog below.

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Link left with one choice for JOC

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WHEN Ewen McKenzie took over the Wallabies, he told James O'Connor he had a clean slate.

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He'd heard the "innuendo" about O'Connor's behaviour in the past but McKenzie offered a chance to start afresh, and for a few weeks, the winger responded well.

After O'Connor was escorted from Perth airport by police at the weekend while drunk, however, McKenzie went to the ARU offices and pulled his disciplinary file for the first time.

The bulging contents left him with one conclusion. Drastic change was overdue.

"He's got to do something different because the frequency of this is not acceptable," McKenzie said.

"I have had a chance to look at the circumstances of the other day and chance to look at incidents over time, and from that, we are not getting the right type of behaviour from him.

"He's a good footballer and he's demonstrated change already, but he's tripped himself up. There's a track record there of similar type events in similar circumstances so a significant change in behaviour is required."

On top of a chequered past, the Perth airport incident saw McKenzie stand O'Connor down from the Wallabies indefinitely on Friday night, with NSW winger Peter Betham replacing the 23-year-old in the tour party to Africa/Argentina next week.

The official ARU investigation into O'Connor has not been finalised, but based on admissions about his behaviour, the 43-Test wing was suspended for the second time in his Wallabies career for "failing to demonstrate and uphold the behavioural and cultural standards expected within the team".

"He understood when we got to the detail of the behaviour, he said it wasn't acceptable," McKenzie said.

"The way he conducted himself in public. I don't want to go into the tin tacks of it, but we were disputing the fact the way he behaved in front of other people wasn't acceptable.

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"In the end it wasn't a fight of that from perspective, I am concerned about the issues over time. I am here to protect the interests of the Wallabies and the team."

"I think we've been pretty clear about what it means to be a Wallaby, you can look at it the other way, obviously we've got this incident but you look at the other players – what are they doing?

"Well they're not putting us into the newspapers for the wrong reasons."

O'Connor has denied to the ARU he was drunk and McKenzie said there'd been no determination about whether he was intoxicated, despite Air Asia confirming it was the reason they barred him from flying. The ARU investigation has been delayed due to "privacy" reasons with the AFP and the airline.

Witnesses have told the Daily Telegraph a dispute with his partner – and later airline staff – prompted them to deny him access to the Bali flight based on his state.

Ex-Test captain Nathan Sharpe said disappointed Wallabies teammates should be involved in discipline issues with O'Connor but McKenzie said he had made the call alone and would do likewise on any potential return.

Players have long taken issue with the failure of Robbie Deans to haul O'Connor into line, however, and McKenzie appeared to join them.

"I am not here to say everything is bad (with O'Connor), but these periodic events are bringing him down and the team … and you have to eliminate those," he said.

"How it has been done in the past isn't working long enough so we need to go and investigate that. We, and he in particular, need to make an investment in that space and find a different way because we just can't tolerate these periodic events that takes rugby into the newspapers and general public in the wrong way.

"I will be working with him but he has to make some substantial changes to how he goes about things."

McKenzie said he wasn't certain if the suspension would imperil O'Connor's ongoing contract negotiations with the ARU, or Western Force.

A Force spokesman said Friday night their position had not changed, and they would wait for the outcome of the ARU investigation.

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German court delays Ecclestone F1 ruling

A GERMAN court decision on whether to try Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone on bribery charges has been delayed until next year.

The Munich state court said in a statement on Friday that it is waiting for additional responses that Ecclestone's lawyers have promised to charges of bribery and incitement to breach of trust.

It also said that the composition of the panel of judges considering the case will shortly change and so a decision "can no longer be expected this year."

The charges, which were filed by Munich prosecutors in July, relate to a $US44 million ($A46.9 million) payment to a German banker. The court said at the time that it wouldn't decide before mid-September on whether and when the case would go to trial.

Ecclestone, the longtime commercial head of F1, has been under investigation since the banker Gerhard Gribkowsky was convicted of accepting the payment in connection with the sale of a stake in F1.

Ecclestone, who will be 83 in October, says he did nothing illegal.

He acknowledged during Gribkowsky's trial in 2011 that he made the payment five years earlier but said he was pressured to do so.

Gribkowsky was in charge of selling German bank BayernLB's 47 per cent stake in F1 to investment group CVC Capital Partners in 2006.

The banker was sentenced to more than eight years in prison in 2012 after being found guilty of corruption, tax evasion and breach of trust.

In addition to taking the money from Ecclestone, Gribkowsky used BayernLB's funds to pay the F1 chief a commission of $US41.4 million ($A44.1 million) and agreed to pay a further $US25 million ($A26.6 million) to Bambino Trust, a company with which Ecclestone was affiliated, prosecutors said during the trial in 2011.

Sentences in Germany for bribery range from three months to 10 years in prison.

"They wanted money. I was shaken down by the guys. It's happened in life before," Ecclestone told AP in July.

Ecclestone was savvy in building his power base in F1 from the 1970s and helped to create the Formula One Constructors' Association that controlled the business side of the sport, including selling the TV rights.

The British-based company later became known as Formula One Management and has retained control of the global motor racing series, despite regular tussles with the teams over finances.

CVC amassed a 63 per cent stake of F1 but reduced its holding as other investors came on board. Ecclestone's holding has been diluted to about five per cent. A planned flotation has stalled.

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Ex-ACCC boss Samuel to join ARL Commission

Former ACCC boss Graeme Samuel has been appointed to the Australian Rugby League Commission. Source: AAP

FORMER ACCC boss Graeme Samuel has been appointed to the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC).

Samuel will start his new role in November in place of Gary Pemberton, who is stepping down.

The 67-year-old Samuel was head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for eight years from 2003 but has strong experience in sports administration either side of that tenure.

He is the longest-serving AFL commissioner, spending 19 years from 1985-2002 during a period of rapid growth for the game that included the addition of four teams to the competition in Adelaide and Perth and the merger of Fitzroy with Brisbane.

That experience might be called on soon as NRL chief executive Dave Smith has publicly stated expansion will be back on the table at the end of next year.

In 2011, Samuel became managing director of boutique investment bank Greenhill Australia, where he was last year involved in negotiating the NRL's lucrative media rights deal.

ARLC Chairman John Grant was delighted to add Samuel to the commission.

"Graeme Samuel is one of the most respected figures in the Australian business landscape," Grant said in a statement.

"Through his previous role at Greenhill ... we got to know each other well and feel very comfortable that this, together with his time as an AFL Commissioner, give him a strong understanding of some of the game's key strategic issues and opportunities."

In August last year, Grant announced a new television rights deal with the Nine Network and Fox Sports worth more than $1 billion over five years and Samuel believes the game is poised for further growth.

"The exposure I have had to the game and to the Commission over the last year has demonstrated the extent to which the game is striving towards an even more significant place on the national sporting landscape," said Samuel.

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42-year-old stuns Kirilenko

At nearly 43 years old Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm shocked No.2 seed Maria Kirilenko. Source: AP

APPROACHING her 43rd birthday, Japanese tennis veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm stunned Russian second seed Maria Kirilenko on Thursday to reach the WTA Korea Open quarter-finals.

Date-Krumm, who will turn 43 later this month, continued to roll back the years with a 6-3 6-1 triumph over Kirilenko, the world No.19.

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It was just the latest age-defying feat by Date-Krumm, who reached the third round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. 

Next up for the Japanese star is Russian third seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who dispatched South Korean wildcard Lee Ye-Ra to reach the last eight on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Polish top seed Agnieszka Radwanska also made it into the quarters when she beat Spain's Estrella Cabeza Candela 6-2 6-1.

And Jang Su-Jeong kept home hopes alive when she beat Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 1-6 6-4 6-1.

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27 years since Deano's India heroics

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IT'S 27 years on Thursday since Dean Jones made his epic, vomit laced 210 in the famous tied Test against India.

His former captain Allan Border has recalled how he got Jones to carry on through devastating illness using the words, "We'll get a Queenslander out here."

That, says Border, inspired Jones to stay on the field and play his career-defining innings in the oppressive Indian heat during the famous tied Test of 1986.

Speaking exclusively to foxsports.com.au, ahead of the India tour earlier this year, Border, talked of how he used interstate rivalry to inspire Jones to continue batting in Madras, despite the fact the Victorian batsman was suffering intense dehydration that had seen him vomit on the field several times.

In conditions that Border - who many forget also made a hundred in that match - compares to "playing cricket in a sauna bath", Jones was ready to leave the pitch until his skipper intervened.

"I was wanting him to stay out there because he was batting so well, and of course I didn't know just how distressed he was," Border says.

"I knew Greg Ritchie was in next, and I knew there would be some easy quip I could make to fire him up, so I said, 'Yeah well that's okay mate, if you want to go off now we'll get someone out here tough, we'll get a Queenslander out here'."

"I can't repeat the words he said back to me, but he did stay on, he made another 30 or 40 … and the legend was born."

Jones tweeted about the comments on Thursday night.

After finally making his way from the ground, Jones collapsed and was sent to hospital soon after.

But that was far from the only drama in that Test match, as it went on to become just the second in history to end in a tie.

Border admits that, amidst the euphoria of Greg Matthews taking a wicket with the penultimate ball of the match, there was a moment when he thought Australia had actually won.

"Just for a moment there, because I was diving for the ball fielding at bat pad, just for a moment I thought, 'we've won!' ... and then all of a sudden it started to sink in. This had been a tied Test match.

"It was quite an incredible feeling to be a part of."

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Players must decide if JOC's time is up

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FORMER Test skipper Nathan Sharpe says Wallabies players have been disappointed by the behaviour of the wayward teammate James O'Connor for "a long time" and a line in the sand must now be drawn with team-driven punishment.

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Sharpe delivered a stinging insider's appraisal of O'Connor's ongoing discipline issues as the ARU launched a full investigation into the incident at Perth airport on Sunday, where the 23-year-old was denied access to a flight for being drunk and was escorted out by police.

O'Connor will be interviewed by ARU Integrity Unit boss Phil Thomson on Friday, after he spent Thursday compiling facts from the Australian Federal Police and Air Asia. The ARU were first made aware of the incident on Sunday, but team manager Bob Egerton conducted an initial inquiry.

The ARU could give no sense of when the investigation might be complete, but there are potential time constraints given the Wallabies fly out for Africa and Argentina on Monday.

Sharpe said while he was not aware of the specifics of the Perth airport matter, it fitted a pattern of misbehaviour that had emerged long ago.

"I don't know what went on in this incident, and whether there was alcohol involved or there wasn't, but there has just been too many," Sharpe said.

"The messages aren't getting through. It's very disappointing, because those sort of issues had been flagged previously."

Sharpe was O'Connor's first captain at Western Force when the teenager first arrived in Perth, and played alongside him at Wallabies level for several years.

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The respected veteran was also on the Wallabies coaching staff during the recent Lions series, when O'Connor's infamous burger bar episode – and other misdemeanours – infuriated teammates.

"I am all for accepting a person makes a mistake here or there, but it's just been too consistent, and that's probably something James has to look at," Sharpe said.

"At the end of the day, it's not all about what he does on the field. It is about how he respects his teammates."

Asked if teammates were upset with O'Connor, Sharpe said: "Yeah, they are. They all are. I don't know if it will be said publicly but I know having been alongside most of those guys, they were disappointed a long time ago."

"And at the end of the day, he's in a pretty precarious position," Sharpe said.

"I don't think fining him or whatever will work, I think the playing group need to stand up and decide what is best for the team, and make a decision with the coaching staff, and then follow through with it,

"They have to act for the best interests of the team, and let it be known what will be tolerated and what won't be tolerated. They need to come up with the course of action."

Sharpe said O'Connor had boundless capacity to be a strong contributor to the Wallabies but had to ensure his behaviour didn't take him past a point of no return.

"His capabilities in terms of his ability on the field, but also his intelligence, they run deep in his make-up," Sharpe said.

"The worst thing he could do is lose the group. If he loses the group, he'll never come back."

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Write us off at your peril: O'Keefe

Write us off at your peril says O'Keefe. Source: AAP

SYDNEY dual premiership veteran Ryan O'Keefe says the Swans don't mind being written off again as they chase back-to-back flags.

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The Swans have been installed as the outsiders for the flag by bookmakers, behind Hawthorn, Fremantle and Geelong ahead of preliminary final weekend.

"It's everyone's prerogative really. They have to form their own opinions," O'Keefe said.

"Internally we know what we're about and we know what we stand for and we have confidence in each other.

"That's all that really matters - within the group how we feel and our attitude towards everything."

The Swans flew into Perth in business class in three separate flights yesterday and trained at Patersons Stadium this afternoon ahead of Saturday night's second preliminary final against the Dockers.

"There were three different options that guys could take. The older blokes that like to get to bed early came over a bit earlier," O'Keefe said.

Sydney Swans players train at Patersons Stadium ahead of Saturday's clash. Picture: Stewart Allen Source: PerthNow

"I think it was just all about recovery from last week's game and preparation for this one.

"We've done everything possible to freshen up this week. It's another big game and everyone's up and looking forward to it."

O'Keefe said the Swans were 'pumped' and ready for the contest despite a growing injury toll.

"I don't think that any player that's playing at this time of year hasn't got some sort of soreness," he said.

"But it's the best time of the year to be playing. Everyone's pumped and looking forward to it.

"It's exciting. We're playing in a prelim final. It's one game away from the big show really."

O'Keefe said he was fine after rolling his ankle in the final seconds of last Saturday's semi-final win over Carlton.
 

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JOC escorted from Perth airport

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JAMES O'Connor's future in Australian rugby has been thrown into jeopardy after the allegedly intoxicated winger was escorted out of Perth airport by federal police.

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The AFP confirmed a 23-year-old man was removed from the airport after being denied entry to a flight in the early hours of Sunday morning.

O'Connor was travelling to Bali with his girlfriend on a 5am flight and has admitted to the ARU he was involved in a heated dispute with airline staff over seating arrangements.

"The AFP can confirm it spoke to a 23-year-old man at Perth International Airport in the early hours of the 15th of September (Sunday)," an AFP spokesman said.

"It is alleged the man was intoxicated. The airline the man was booked to travel with made a decision not to allow him to board the aircraft. The AFP subsequently escorted the man from the terminal."

Witnesses have told Rugby Gold they saw O'Connor being escorted from the Perth terminal, affected by alcohol, in the wee hours after the Wallabies beat Argentina at Patersons Stadium.

The ARU launched an investigation on Sunday but were satisfied with O'Connor's version of events relayed from Bali, which stated a dispute over seating arrangements at the gate led to O'Connor and his girlfriend being taken back through customs to re-book seats on a later flight. He denied being drunk and there was no mention of the AFP.

The Wallabies have had the week off before leaving on of a tour South Africa and South America next Monday.

O'Connor's presence on the two-week trip to South Africa and Argentina will now come under scrutiny in major doubt following a string of off-field incidents, and the airport matter could also threaten an impending deal with the Western Force, which was due to be finalised this week.

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O'Connor was let go by the Melbourne Rebels in July – with attitude cited as one of the reasons – and a return to his first club the Force is understood to be conditional on the 23-year-old agreeing to strict behavioural standards.

If the deal with the Force collapses, O'Connor is likely to be left without an Australian Super Rugby club for next season, with all others not interested. He may have to take up an offer overseas or in rugby league.

O'Connor's airport incident comes just weeks after he pledged to clean up his act following a series of off-field disciplinary issues.

In 2011, O'Connor was suspended for a Test after sleeping through the World Cup squad announcement and a few months later was involved in a fight in Paris with Wallaby teammates Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper.

Recently, O'Connor was again in hot water during the British and Irish Lions tour in June when he and Beale were photographed at Hungry Jacks at 4am, just a few days out from the second Test in Melbourne.

Along with missing a bus to training and a final Wallaby team meeting, O'Connor's behaviour infuriated senior Wallabies, some of whom spoke out against him.

After new Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie laid down the law about team standards, O'Connor said just over a month ago he was working to make changes.

"There's definitely things that I already have changed and am in the process of doing, personal things," O'Connor said.

"I don't play rugby to be talked about off the field.

"I'm playing rugby because I love it and that's what I want to be doing, playing for my country.

"At the moment I'm doing the hard yards and I'm trying to get involved and earn myself into the team."

"It's not hard to do, (team standards) is just putting the team first. I can't express everything, but it's something I'm pretty excited about.

"It's something I know I can be part of."

Wallabies captain James Horwill, who missed the Perth Test with injury, last month foreshadowed problems for O'Connor should he misbehave again.

"I think they (O'Connor and Beale) understand that's not what's acceptable being a part of the Australian team and we've got to make sure that that's clear and as long as we make that clear everyone understands where they stand, not just for those individuals but for everyone," Horwill said in August.

"Once you know where you stand and if you go away from that then that brings you into a place that you probably don't want to be, so that's something that we will make pretty clear – and have made pretty clear."

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O'Connor to face McKenzie's wrath

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WALLABIES coach Ewen McKenzie faces the first test of his firm stance on team discipline following James O'Connor's latest slip-up in Perth.

O'Connor was escorted from Perth airport by the Australian Federal Police on Sunday after a disagreement over seating for a flight to Bali. He was allegedly intoxicated.

McKenzie made it clear when taking over from former coach Robbie Deans that he would not tolerate poor off-field behaviour, something O'Connor had made a habit of under the Kiwi's regime.

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McKenzie must now make good on his word, both for the state of his side and Australian rugby in general.

"That (discipline) won't be a problem, I'll be making that very clear (what's acceptable)," McKenzie said last month.

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"There's been a lot of talk around this and in the end there's been some instances, I don't want anyone to think there's a big problem here, I think 95 per cent of the players are doing the right thing, every minute of every day, so let's not get bogged down in it.

"We'll make it quite clear what's acceptable and what isn't and I'll manage that process with the team manager but in the end I expect that's not going to be an issue and we'll get on with the business of playing rugby, representing the code and inspiring the next generation of players. We'll make it clear and then we'll just manage it."

Skipper James Horwill backed his coach's hard-line stance, saying the players would know where they stood under McKenzie.

"I think they understand that's not what is acceptable being part of the Australian team and we've got to make sure that's clear," Horwill said.

"Once you know where you stand, if you go away from that then that brings you into a place that you don't want to be."

O'Connor is without a Super Rugby franchise for next year with this latest incident is sure to hurt his hopes of re-joining Western Force. 

The Force were the only Australian franchise prepared to talk with O'Connor, even though he departed the same club in inglorious circumstances back in 2011.

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