The ACT Brumbies are backing Ewen McKenzie's tough stance on Wallabies discipline, and World Cup-winning fly-half Stephen Larkham says tough punishments will ''set the tone'' for the Test team culture in the future.
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McKenzie suspended six players and gave nine others written and verbal warnings after a night out in Dublin last week.
Brumbies duo Scott Fardy and Nic White were at the lesser end of the punishments being given verbal warnings for returning to the team hotel later than expected.
McKenzie came down hard on six players - Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Paddy Ryan, Nick Cummins, Liam Gill and Benn Robinson - and has suspended them for the Test against Scotland.
''You need to have a performance culture that you adopt … when I first started in the Wallabies there was probably a bit of a hangover from the amateur era and we enjoyed ourselves,'' Larkham said.
''It's a very professional sport … it's a high-performance sport now and you expect results internally and externally that the guys are doing the right thing.
''It's a good lesson for everyone. I think they've been dealt with appropriately.''
Fardy and White are on their first spring tour with the Wallabies.
Larkham, who played 102 Tests for Australia and is the new Brumbies coach, said McKenzie's penalties set a new standard.
Brumbies outside centre Tevita Kuridrani had his hearing on Tuesday night following his tip-tackle against an Irish player. He was expected to be suspended.
