Five ACT Brumbies still celebrating Saturday's Super 12 win over the Stormers were arrested in Sea Point, Cape Town, early today after refusing to pay a taxi driver, pushing his vehicle away while he was reporting them to the police and ripping out his meter.
The players got off lightly with a ride to their hotel in a police van to collect about R4 000 to repair the damage to the taxi.
Brumbies manager Phil Thomson was initially unaware of his players' antics when he was called early today.
He then called an "emergency meeting" with the players and later confirmed the names of the five. He said he would be talking to the police today.
The taxi incident followed a ruckus involving several Brumbies at a Rondebosch restaurant on Saturday after the Australian team beat the Stormers 29-15 at Newlands.
Taxi driver Riedewaan Abrahams of Salt River said he picked up Joe Roff, Bill Young, Peter Ryan, Owen Finegan and Rod Kafer at Club Med in Camps Bay about 1am today.
"They were raucously drunk and all five were determined to squeeze into my car although I told them that it was against the law," said Abrahams.
"After leaving the club they wanted to eat something so I took them to Saul Saloon in Main Road, Sea Point, but they made trouble there and were thrown out.
Saul's Saloon manager, who asked to be identified only as Alan, said the Brumbies were disruptive and swore at him.
"One of them climbed on the table and lay down on it and another one poured tomato sauce into an ashtray, just like naughty children," he said.
"They were extremely rowdy and eating like pigs, creating a big mess."
Abrahams said when they left the restaurant, the five players threatened him and said they would not pay the fare.
"They had no respect for me or my car, trashing the interior with food they had bought from Saul's," he said.
"They were getting increasingly abusive. I had no chance against five aggressive rugby players - so I drove to Sea Point police station.
While Abrahams was in the charge office reporting the Brumbies, they pushed his Mercedes Benz towards Beach Road, breaking the tariff meter out of the dashboard and jumping on the car's roof, denting it.
Charge office staff watching a closed circuit television monitor saw them pushing the car away.
Abrahams and the police caught up with the players walking away from the taxi, which they had abandoned on the corner of Stanley and Beach roads.
Abrahams recovered his meter from a high wall in Beach Road.
Getting five rugby giants back to the police station took more than two policemen.
"They were not interested in accompanying us back to the station so we had to radio for reinforcements so that we could march them back," said a Sea Point policeman.
"I don't think they realised the seriousness of their deeds. They stole a car, they maliciously damaged it, they threatened Abrahams and they refused to pay him."
After driving the Brumbies to their Newlands hotel the men were released because Abrahams declined to press charges.
Early on Sunday, Brumbies players were involved in a fracas at Kuzma's restaurant in Rondebosch, allegedly upturning tables and chairs.
Kuzma's owner said the players were fighting among themselves. When he called security the bill was quickly paid and they left.