Western Force players suspended for drinking two glasses of wine on plane to Perth

A pair of Australian rugby union stars have been suspended for one game after they enjoyed a couple of glasses of red wine during a flight.

Western Force hooker Andrew Ready and winger Byron Ralston will sit out of Friday night’s game against the Queensland Reds after drinking on a flight from Melbourne to Perth last Sunday.

A third player, Wallaby Greg Holmes, was also punished for drinking but due to limited players able to fill his position, he’ll be able to play and will instead be hit with a penalty, The Daily Telegraph reported.

It’s understood the super rugby players had one or two glasses each on the plane with their meal following their win over the Melbourne Rebels.

With just a six-day gap between their next match, the Force’s senior leadership group were left unimpressed with their actions.

The club’s general manager of rugby, Matt Hodgson made it clear none of the players were intoxicated.

‘They weren’t drunk or intoxicated on the plane, they each had one to two glasses of wine with their meals, but this was a player-led decision and it was determined that because we were wearing Force uniforms and with the short turnaround between games they shouldn’t have been drinking,’ he said. 

Mr Hodgson added it was part of the culture the team were trying to set for players, adding Ready, Ralston and Holmes had apologised to their teammates.

‘They addressed the entire playing group on the first day back to training on Monday, apologised for their choices, and then ripped into training and really helped the guys who are stepping up to replace them,’ he said.

The players’ suspension will mean they miss the first major sporting event in WA since the borders opened to other states.

A crowd of 8,000 are due to watch the Force take on the Reds in Perth on Friday night.