Injured Australian captain Stephen Moore says the Test team needs a clear framework for cultural standards, adding lewd text messages sent from Kurtley Beale to Di Patston were unacceptable and "as a group" the Wallabies had let fans down.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Moore has been called upon to help the ARU devise a structure to find the "optimum set-up" for the Wallabies to ensure under-siege coach Ewen McKenzie has the right support and team culture is addressed.
Moore said players had his full support as the team battles off-field distractions, including Beale's impending misconduct hearing for inadvertently sending business manager Patston a set of messages, and speculation about McKenzie's future.
But he said Patston did not deserve the scrutiny following behaviour Moore did not condone.
"Di did an incredible amount of work for the team and the team was her priority," Moore said.
"I respect the notion that everyone is entitled to an opinion around this. It's unfortunate and unacceptable that this kind of thing happened in a team environment.
"I will always support the players as far as I can, but you can't support that type of behaviour.
"I would like to be part of a team where that sort of thing is not accepted. There's a person involved here who is struggling emotionally and has been questioned from pillar to post by the media.
"She doesn't deserve to be dealing with this kind of thing, we need to keep that in mind. That behaviour can't be accepted in our environment and it's not accepted in any working environment.
"It needs to be treated very seriously, we need to have a very clear framework in place so that our culture doesn't allow for this stuff to happen."
Moore said he would prefer to avoid commentary on team matters as he has not been part of the squad. The hooker suffered a season-ending knee injury in his first Test as Wallabies captain and won't be back in the international arena until next year.
He spoke with ARU officials on Wednesday about searching for a replacement for Patston as the team prepares for a five-week tour of Europe.
It is understood the ARU is considering appointing a temporary team manager to assist McKenzie on the tour.
Moore is adamant the Wallabies have the talent to be one of the best teams in the world, but said results and off-field incidents had let down Australian fans.
"We're the national team, we're representing a lot of people and as a group we've let them down," Moore said.
"We need to rectify that and I think it can be done very quickly. I strongly feel like we've got the right players at the moment to do very well, that's never been in question.
"But as a group we can certainly look at that holistic view of high performance and develop that further to get to where we want to go ... there are a hell of a lot of elements and it's not always easy.
"But Test rugby is different to Super Rugby, there are different dynamics and you need a commitment from everyone in the group that we're going to stick to what we say we're going to do."
Moore said finding a replacement for Patston for the tour of Europe was crucial, conceding the off-field events had been a distraction in the lead-up to the Bledisloe Cup clash on Saturday night.
"It has to come up with the optimum structure with Ewen at the centre to help the Wallabies achieve sustainable success," Moore said.
"Australian sport is littered with examples of coaches going through a tough period, but with a groundswell of support from people around them, they can go on to achieve great outcomes.
"You don't want distractions in a team environment, you want really strong standards and values and a clear vision for where to go. You want everyone aware of what and who we're representing. That can get lost in all of this."
