Boozing not a problem says new Wales boss

No sooner had the Kiwi been assailed by one early crisis in the shape of Gavin Henson's alleged rowdy, aggressive conduct on a train home to Cardiff, than another ugly incident came to light. Rhys Thomas — the prop who made his Test debut against South Africa last month — and Newport Gwent Dragons teammate Rhodri Gomer Davies were reprimanded, cautioned and fined in Italy following a 'fracas' at a nightclub.

Latest recruit: New Wales boss Warren Gatland

The pair broke a team curfew on Saturday by heading to the club hours after taking part in a 35-33 Heineken Cup victory over Treviso. Having been arrested by local police and detained at the nearby Santa Bona prison, Thomas and Gomer Davies were taken to court yesterday morning but escaped with a conditional discharge. Henson's hearing is due to take place next month. He was charged yesterday with being drunk and disorderly on his way back from London with friends on December 2 following a stellar performance in the Ospreys' win over Harlequins.

Before the latest damaging incident had come to light, Gatland confidently declared that alcohol abuse among players in the Principality was not a concern, saying: "A lot of people have spoken to me about this, but there isn't a drinking culture here. This is something blown out of proportion."

Unfortunately, the drunken Dragons have made the same mistake as Henson. Yet, Gatland repeated yesterday that these episodes do not reflect a deep-seated malaise within Welsh rugby.

"Anyone I have spoken to — a huge range of people in the game — said they felt strongly that there is not a drinking culture in Welsh rugby," said the former Wasps coach. "But sometimes boys do have a few too many drinks. This is an unfortunate incident and hopefully the Dragons will deal with it properly."

He added: "I have no problem with players having a couple of beers but we don't want to see incidents in the media as a result. If it does keep happening then it is something we have to eliminate. But I'm not going to ban the players from ever having a drink. I've seen New Zealand teams impose draconian measures before and they have backfired."

Thomas and Gomer Davies were released to fly home yesterday, along with the Dragons chief executive Gethin Jenkins, who said: "The matter has been fully resolved."

A statement issued on behalf of the players added: 'We apologise to the people involved, our Italian hosts, our families, the Dragons team and our supporters. We have learnt our lesson and will do our very best to make amends."

The region's management confirmed the pair face an internal disciplinary hearing. Henson denies the charges against him and has the backing of the Ospreys, who have chosen not to take action against their celebrity centre. But the 25- year-old has received a court summons relating to a public order offence.