6 times rugby stars went AWOL – starring Vegas and working down a mine

And before any of you bloody rabble start with the “Player X goes missing for Team Y every week” nonsense, we’re talking about players who have gone AWOL here, not MIA…

In 2008, Williams wanted out of his deal with the Bulldogs and was eyeing up a career switch to union. However, instead of negotiating a release, he jumped on a plane and linked up with cashed-up French club Toulon. The move caused plenty of outrage in Australia with the Bulldogs chasing compensation.

The lock was sacked by Racing 92 in late 2019 for his late return to the Paris club after representing his country at the Rugby World Cup in Japan. The 31-year-old was due back at the club on October 28, but Racing's statement stated he was absent without permission for two weeks beyond his return date - adding that his actions demonstrated "a total lack of team spirit and a marked insubordination".

The club also claims that the player did not answer their messages during his absence, criticising his "deplorable example" to team-mates.

Racing 92 suspended their prop forward in 2016 after pictures emerged of the rugby player partying in Las Vegas with Paris Saint-Germain footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Castrogiovanni told the club he could not feature in the team’s Champions Cup showdown with Leicester Tigers at the weekend due to the fact he had family matters to attend to in Argentina. 

The England winger allegedly failed to report for training on three separate occasions without providing a satisfactory explanation while at Harlequins and was given his marching orders in October 2017. He then joined Premiership rivals Sale Sharks.

The Fijian flyer made a habit of disappearing. In 2005 he copped a 12 month ban from Fiji for not playing a handful of tests include one against the All Blacks. The ban was lifted early but he repeated his antics in 2006. It was a similar situation for French club Agen. It took until his third unexplained absence in 2010 for them to rip up his contract.

The burly prop was an enforcer on the field, but it was an off-field incident that would see his international career come to an end. After playing his third test for New Zealand against Wales in 1972, he punched a man in a bar after the game.

The home unions piled on the pressure for the All Blacks to punish him and they eventually decided to send him home. However, he never arrived back in New Zealand and never played for the All Blacks again. He was eventually found working in the mines in Perth, but has never talked to media about the events Cardiff in 1972.