HUNT IN CLEAR BUT ARU NOT WELCOMING BACK
KARMICHAEL Hunt’s court win will not save his 2019 World Cup dream if Rugby Australia judge him as too toxic to play again for the Reds and Wallabies.
Chasing a fresh start with a French club is one possibility for the tarnished fullback, whose playing future is still up in the air.
An independent code of conduct hearing seems certain to be called by Rugby Australia to scrutinise the detail of his arrest late last year and the damage to the code. A charge of cocaine possession was yesterday dropped by police because of lack of evidence but the level of proof for a finding of “bringing the code into disrepute” is lower.
Hunt left court with a $600 fine for two minor charges and no conviction after the work of lawyer Adam Magill in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
“Relieved … and it’s all over,” Magill said of Hunt’s mood. However the Hunt case is far from finalised.
He faces a red light on returning to team training with the Reds until the code’s governing body completes its own probe.
It is believed Rugby Australia’s new integrity unit chief Gerard McEvilly is yet to have access to video footage and the full details, gathered by police on Hunt.
Cocaine was found in the Fortitude Valley carpark where Hunt was arrested on December 30.
McEvilly is expected to assemble a three-person code of conduct panel to dissect the Hunt case.
Late yesterday, Rugby Australia released a short statement on Hunt that suggested informationgathering was ongoing.