3 Mathieu Bastareaud\u2019s \u201cAssault\u201d That Never Happened<\/p>\n
Mathieu Bastareaud\u2019s 2009 controversy in Wellington wasn\u2019t technically an arrest, but it earns a spot for being one of rugby\u2019s most bizarre self-inflicted scandals.<\/p>\n
After France\u2019s Test loss to the All Blacks, Bastareaud returned to the team hotel sporting a badly cut face. He initially claimed he\u2019d been ambushed by a group of locals on the street\u2014prompting outrage in both France and New Zealand.<\/p>\n
But the truth, when it emerged, was far less dramatic: he\u2019d simply fallen over in his hotel room while drinking and made the story up to cover his tracks. The fallout caused a diplomatic stir, a media circus and a lesson in why inventing attackers is rarely the best solution to a clumsy night out.<\/p>\n
4 Manu Tuilagi\u2019s Post-World-Cup Ferry Leap<\/p>\n
After England\u2019s disappointing exit from the 2011 Rugby World Cup, centre Manu Tuilagi tried to blow off some steam. Unfortunately, he chose to do so by jumping off a ferry in Auckland.<\/p>\n
The then-20-year-old leapt from the vessel and swam to a nearby pier, where police briefly detained him before issuing a formal warning. England\u2019s management wasn\u2019t amused either, fining him \u00a33,000.<\/p>\n
Tuilagi later apologised, calling it a \u201csilly thing to do,\u201d which may be underselling the fact that he had just jumped into open water off a moving boat. Whether alcohol played a role remains officially unconfirmed\u2014but the mood of England\u2019s World Cup campaign suggests it\u2019s at least plausible.<\/p>\n
5 Danny Care and the Leeds Hotel Steps<\/p>\n
Danny Care had a turbulent end to 2011 and start to 2012, culminating in yet another scrape with the law\u2014this time for urinating on the steps of the Queens Hotel in Leeds.<\/p>\n
British Transport Police found the Harlequins scrum-half relieving himself outside the hotel just after 3am. He was arrested, taken to the station, questioned and ultimately cautioned for being drunk and disorderly.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t an isolated incident. Only weeks earlier, Care had been fined over \u00a33,000 and banned from driving for 16 months after pleading guilty to drink-driving on New Year\u2019s Day. England promptly dropped him from their Six Nations squad, marking a spectacularly unglamorous off-field hat-trick for the young No. 9.<\/p>\n
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