Rugby Australia back Ben Barba NRL ban

Rugby Australia will not offer Ben Barba a lifeline in union if a lifetime ban is imposed by the NRL, as is widely expected, the sport’s governing body has confirmed.

Rugby league bad boy Barba was dismissed last week by the North Queensland Cowboys without playing a single game for the club. The move followed reports of an alleged assault on the 29-year-old’s partner in a casino, with NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg stating that the governing body would not allow the former Dally M winner to register for another club in the future if he is found guilty of the offence.

The Barba matter has been investigated by the integrity unit in Townsville over the last 24 hours. A report is being prepared for Todd Greenberg. Findings expected tomorrow with Barba to be deregistered – and unlikely to ever return to the NRL @9NewsSyd

— Danny Weidler (@Danny_Weidler) February 4, 2019

‘Etiquette agreement’ in place

Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle confirmed that the organisation would respect any bans issued by the NRL as part of an “etiquette agreement” between the two codes.

“In relation to players who have received bans from one sport… you can’t then just go from rugby league to rugby union and play the next week,” Castle added, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

With Barba’s ban from the NRL expected to be formally confirmed on Tuesday, the five-eighth may be forced to ply his trade abroad in order to bypass the suspension. However, it won’t be in England’s Super League, with the Rugby Football League confirming at the weekend that it too would respect any ban imposed by its southern-hemisphere counterpart.

French rugby union return a possibility

With a return to his 2018 club St Helens out of the question, then, Barba may look to a return to French rugby union, which has notoriously offered a lifeline to players who have got themselves in hot water back home in recent years. Indeed, following a 12-match ban for taking cocaine back in November 2016, the cross-code star made the switch to Toulon in May 2017 – although he was sacked after making just four appearances for the side.

Barba is undoubtedly one of the most talented players of his generation, being only the second player in history – after Gavin Miller – to be named both the Dally M Player of the Year (2012) and Super League Man of Steel (2018). However, a string of indiscretions and allegations of personal misconduct have dogged his career – with the latest allegations, relating to the mother of his four daughters, threatening to stop it in its tracks.