ACT Brumbies captain Ben Mowen is angry his character has been tarnished by rumours, hitting back at any suggestion he "dobbed" on his Australian Wallabies Test teammates after a drinking session in Ireland last year.
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Mowen revealed he didn't know about the Wallabies' Dublin fiasco until informed by team management more than 24 hours after the late-night session which resulted in the suspension of six players.
Mowen also said any issues among the Wallabies players were "dead and buried" before the Australian team left Ireland to continue their European Spring Tour, insisting "you can't fake team unity".
Fifteen Wallabies players - including eight NSW Waratahs and two Brumbies - were punished after the night out in Ireland.
Rumours have been swirling in the lead up to this Saturday's match between the Brumbies and Waratahs that incumbent Test skipper Mowen had a perceived role in the punishment.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie rejected the notion this week, Mowen also hitting out at the rumours on Wednesday.
Mowen said his only focus was on playing against the Waratahs.
"The Tahs are the form team of the competition and games against the Brumbies are always big, that's the only thing I'm thinking about," Mowen said.
"I'm very disappointed that my character has been questioned publicly when I think over a long period of time I've proven what type of bloke I am.
"It doesn't sit well with me at all. You can't fake team unity, you can't beat Wales in Cardiff in the final game of a five-week tour if you don't have the basis of mateship.
"You can't do it, mateship was the basis of why we went so well."
The Wallabies players went out in Dublin on a Tuesday night and didn't return to the team hotel until the early hours of Wednesday.
Mowen, who was captaining the Wallabies on his first tour of Europe, didn't know about the incident until Thursday.
Mowen was adamant there was no resentment or a player divide in the Wallabies ranks.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's well dead and buried," Mowen said.
"It was dead and buried right there and then when we were in Ireland and that's why we had such a successful three week tour afterwards.
"We moved on and we performed really well and had a great time as a group together."
Mowen did not want to be drawn into a war of words leading into the Brumbies-Waratahs contest at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.
Mowen spent four years at the Waratahs before joining the Brumbies in 2012.
NSW pair Dave Dennis and Benn Robinson chose not to deny the rumours Waratahs player were out for revenge against Mowen this week.
McKenzie made a hard-line stance against player behaviour and guidelines when he suspended six players and reprimanded another nine in Ireland.
It was a stance to rebuild the Wallabies' culture which had suffered in previous years.
Of the 15 Wallabies reprimanded and suspended, the Waratahs' contingent of Dennis, Robinson, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Paddy Ryan, Kane Douglas, Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps are all expected to play against the Brumbies.
Brumbies duo Scott Fardy and Nic White were also reprimanded for their late return to the team hotel in Ireland.
The Brumbies and Waratahs share an intense rivalry and rich history.
When the Brumbies started in Super Rugby in 1996, they were regarded as the NSW rejects.
"The Brumbies-Waratahs game are the traditional matches you want to be involved in because it means so much to win it," Mowen said.
"That's enough to get you up without any other factors."
