Tui unlikely to travel after scuffle with fan, says coach Cheika

SYDNEY: Australia loose forward Lukhan Tui is unlikely to travel with the team to South Africa and Argentina after he was involved in an altercation with a fan following the 23-19 Rugby Championship loss to the Pumas, coach Michael Cheika said.

Video footage showed the 21-year-old being confronted by a fan wearing a Wallabies jersey after the match on Saturday at the Gold Coast before they began pushing each other.

The fan was lead away by securi- ty guards, while the Auckland-born Tui, whose stepfather died suddenly during the week, was restrained by teammates.

“We’ll see how the week pans out and go from there,” Cheika told reporters at Brisbane airport yesterday when asked if Tui would travel with the team.

“I’d say it’s unlikely, based on what we spoke about last night.

“His stepfather’s just passed away ... he needs to just be with his family and be together.”

Australian media widely reported that a distraught Tui had told his teammates, who wore black armbands in support of the bullocking flanker, after the match that he needed to take a break from the game and would not play again this season.

Rugby Australia have launched an investigation into the incident and while Cheika said on Saturday fans had every right to be disappointed with the Wallabies’ first loss to the Pumas in Australia in 35 years, the man’s reaction was unwarranted.

“I don’t know about the fan or what he said or anything. I just don’t like to see that in the game,” Cheika said yesterday before adding the matter was now in the hands of officials.

“As they do in all the grounds in Australia, they’ll take a look at it and the people at the ground, they’re responsible for that stuff.”

The Wallabies, who are bottom of the Rugby Championship, next travel to Port Elizabeth to face South Africa on Sept 29 before taking on the Pumas in Salta on Oct 6.