London: Wallabies winger Sefa Naivalu was suspended for Australias Test against Argentina last month after being late for a team bus to the airport in South Africa in yet another internal issue the Wallabies opted not to make public.
A Wallabies spokesperson confirmed to Fairfax Media that Naivalu was not eligible for selection to face the Pumas on October 6 in Salta.
Ill-discipline: Sefa Naivalu has joined a growing list of Wallabies guilty of breaking team protocols.Credit:AAP
It comes after Kurtley Beale and Adam Ashley-Cooper were stood down for Saturdays match against England after Cheika, upon receiving a tip from the Wallabies leadership group, decided they had broken team protocol by having three women back to one of their rooms for drinks after Australias defeat to Wales in Cardiff.
Team rules state guests are not allowed in players' rooms but Beale and Ashley-Cooper had a misunderstanding because one of the women was the latters sister-in-law. Both players are keen to move on from what happened.
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There have been rumblings of team disharmony and double standards after Naivalu was punished for something rather trivial in the grand scheme of things.
It is believed players went to the leadership group and expressed their feeling that Beale and Ashley-Cooper should be held to the same high standards of obeying team protocol and punctuality.
Australia won the match against Argentina 45-34 after trailing 31-7 at half-time in the biggest comeback in Test history.
The Wallabies say Naivalu, who was named in the squad for a two-match tour of South Africa and Argentina, was late for a team bus.
In the early hours of Sunday morning after the sides 23-12 defeat to the Springboks, players were scheduled to get on a bus from the team hotel to Port Elizabeth airport for a flight to Johannesburg.
The Wallabies say Naivalu had to be waken up in his room and after some time, the 26-year-old eventually got on the bus. The team and Naivalu all made it onto the flight, as well as the next one from Johannesburg to São Paulo and then Buenos Aires.
Rather than making it a public issue, Cheika decided to keep the matter internal. It was decided by Cheika that Naivalu would not be eligible for the Argentina match.
The Wallabies say Naivalu also picked up an ankle injury but the timing of when this occurred is unclear.
The growing number of problems surrounding the team surely do not bode well for the Wallabies.Credit:AAP
It's understood Naivalu arrived in Argentina before team staff decided it was best he fly back to Australia, given he would not have been able to take part in the match due to injury and the fact he was not eligible to play.
The irony is that on Friday, when explaining why he had decided to stand down Beale and Ashley-Cooper, Cheika had this to say.
“They went without me on the bus in Argentina because I was late,” Cheika said. “Sometimes you take a bit of pain but in the end you get a lot of gain from being like that.”
Further complications during the tour have also emerged. On the Sunday afternoon, South African time, utility back Jack Maddocks boarded a flight to go back to Sydney due to a hand injury he sustained in the Springboks match.
At the time, a Wallabies spokesperson told Fairfax Media they were not planning on bringing anyone over to replace Maddocks and would rely on Naivalu and Tom Banks as the spare backs in the squad.
Interestingly, there was another injury during the Argentina week, but the player was not flown home straight away, prop Tom Robertson going down at training on the Thursday in Buenos Aires with a bad knee injury.
Wallabies officials decided it would be better for Robertson to fly with the team to Salta and stay with the group until the Sunday, when they departed Argentina to return home to Australia.
Replacement player Billy Meakes flew over to join the squad in Argentina but it is unclear when that happened.
Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle has been contacted for comment.
Tom Decent is a journalist with Fairfax Media.
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