Thursday 5 March 2015 08:22, UK
Queensland Reds back Karmichael Hunt has been fined around £1,280 by an Australian court after pleading guilty to four charges of cocaine possession.
However, he will be allowed to continue his Super Rugby career after serving a suspension.
The Australian Rugby Union added an additional fine of about £15,371 and suspended him for six weeks from the Queensland Reds.
In what his lawyer described as a "misguided post-season celebration", Hunt bought cocaine on four separate occasions from a former professional rugby league player from September 1 to October 3, according to police allegations.
The 28-year-old was summoned to court after an investigation by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission which also led to drug charges against eight current and former players from the Gold Coast Titans in Australia's National Rugby League.
Hunt's lawyer Alastair McDougall told Southport Magistrates Court in the Gold Coast that Hunt had made "poor choices".
"He'll be paying for those choices for the rest of his life," McDougall said.
"His two young daughters, with a third on the way, must grow up knowing their father has broken the law."
Hunt avoided having a conviction on his record despite being fined, but the ARU and Reds have ordered him to go into a drug rehab program and he will be placed on a "monitored and targeted drug testing program."
"We are extremely disappointed in Karmichael's actions as illicit substances have no place in rugby," said ARU chief executive Bill Pulver.
"However, we acknowledge that he is sincerely remorseful and has co-operated with the investigation and our integrity enquiries throughout this process."
A former rugby league international and one of Australia's highest-profile athletes, Hunt had played only one game for the Reds this year before being stood down pending the court hearing.
Hunt converted to rugby this year after playing several seasons of top-flight Australian Rules football with the Gold Coast Suns.
