All Black Jerome Kaino is to face a misconduct hearing before the New Zealand Rugby Union after pleading guilty to a drink-driving charge on Monday.
Kaino, 25, was breath-tested by police called to a nose-to-tail crash in Auckland, and found to be over the legal limit.
In Auckland District Court, Kaino was disqualified from driving for six months, and fined $800 plus court costs.
The Rugby Players Association says players who step out of line should expect to face the consequences.
Association chief executive Rob Nichol says it runs drug and alcohol seminars in the hope players will learn to make the right decisions.
The New Zealand Rugby Union says it is looking to schedule a misconduct meeting in the next two to three weeks.
Drinking-surgery link
Meanwhile, research shows nearly half of all facial surgery in New Zealand is on young men who have been in fights while drinking.
Research published in the New Zealand Medical Journal by Christchurch surgeon Leslie Snape showed that 78% of alcohol-related fractures were the result of violence.
It found those aged between 16 and 30 who had been drinking were twice as likely to be hospitalised than those who were sober when they were injured.
Men made up 88% of those casualties.
The study looked at 2500 patients over 11 years.
