Last call on All Black stuff

TOMÁS O’LEARY’s meteoric rise from Munster’s bench to a first international start against the All Blacks is certainly uplifting but it pales into comparison against the story of the man wearing the other number nine shirt tomorrow.

On July 1, the Highlanders scrum-half attended a disciplinary hearing at the NZRU headquarters in Wellington where he was offered the stark choice between alcohol and the All Blacks.

The issue had come to a head after Cowan was served with three separate drink-related disorderly charges in the previous three months after separate incidents in Dunedin and Invercargill.