Wales rugby star Andy Powell: I am not brain-dead...I know my buggy prank was really stupid EXCLUSIVE By Peter Jackson
Andy Powell has broken his silence to talk about the day he drove a golf buggy along the M4 and crashed out of the Six Nations.
Running into trouble: Andy Powell fears his buggy prank could leave him in international wilderness
The 28-year-old Lion spoke of his shame over a 'stupid prank' which stands to cost him a great deal more than £20,000 in match fees following his expulsion from the Wales squad for the remaining three matches of the tournament, starting against France in Cardiff on Friday night.
Powell admitted that the incident could finish his international career. He talked frankly about how the celebrations of his team's sensational comeback against Scotland ended with his arrest at a motorway service station around 6am the following morning.
'After beating Scotland the way we did, I had a few too many beers and enjoyed the night a bit too much,' said Powell, who is to appear before Cardiff Magistrates next week charged with driving a mechanically-propelled vehicle while unfit through drink.
'I should have been thinking more about what I was doing and, if I had, I would never have done it,' he added.
'It was a stupid prank which went badly wrong. I regret terribly what I did but what's done is done.
'I have let Wales down, my family, the fans and everyone involved with rugby, especially Warren Gatland, who gave me the chance to play for my country. I raised some serious issues. As an international sportsman, I have a responsibility, especially to the kids who look up to us. I feel particularly bad that I have failed them in that respect.
'I've done stupid things before when I've had too many sherbets but nothing like this. I was on a high after the match and had a few beers to relax. I thought taking the buggy was a bit of fun but when you've had a few too many beers, everything goes.
'I know it could cost me my international career and that tears me up inside every time I think about it. Gutted is not a strong enough word for how I feel. I've brought it all upon myself and I realise now that it could have a serious effect on my future.
'There is a danger that I won't get the chance to play for Wales again. It's going to be tough but it's up to me to rebuild my career and get it back on track.
'I took the buggy because I wanted to get a bar of chocolate and a sandwich. I knew I could get that from the service station two and a half miles down the motorway from the team hotel. At five o'clock in the morning that seemed to be the best option and the golf buggies are always sitting outside the front.
'I didn't think it would do any harm to borrow one for the ride. I jumped in it with my mate and headed off for the service station. I picked up a cone and a flashing orange light from the side of the road before I got to the motorway which was even more stupid. It probably took me about half an hour to get there, travelling at a maximum speed of around 14 miles per hour.
'We'd pulled into the services before the police arrived. Obviously someone had tipped them off about a golf cart travelling down the M4. As the police said when they questioned me: "Don't worry, we're not going to book you for speeding."
'Someone else made a joke by asking: "Is that Tiger Woods in the back seat?" There's a golf course near that part of the M4 and one of the coppers asked: "Which hole were you playing?"
'They took me to a police station in Cardiff and I was there for most of the day. I didn't leave until five o'clock in the afternoon. They then dropped me back at the hotel.
Calm before the storm: Powell in action against Scotland just hours before his drunken escapade
'The word had got out about what I'd done by then and that's when it began to hit me. I had to walk through the hotel foyer to get my belongings. There were a few people looking at me and I tried to keep my head down and walk as quickly as possible.
'I felt I was doing the walk of shame, like they do after being voted off The Weakest Link. I'd done that for real on the television programme a few months back after appearing on the show with a number of other international rugby players - Phil Vickery, Josh Lewsey, Lee Mears, from England, Thomas Castaignede from France, Paul Wallace from Ireland and I was there with Jamie Roberts representing Wales.
'I was the first to be voted off and Anne Robinson was a little harsh. She's a scary woman and I didn't bite back otherwise she'd have torn me apart. That was a bit of a laugh. The walk of shame through the hotel that afternoon was far worse. That was real shame.
'The rest of the squad had all gone because we'd been given four days off. I got back home to Brecon at 7.30 that evening. Alan Phillips (Wales team manager) left a message on the answer phone saying: "You've been a bit of a bad boy. You'd better phone the hotel and apologise." My agent, Mike Burton, sorted that out for me. I knew I was in trouble and that I had to speak to Warren Gatland (Wales head coach).
'I tried to get hold of him on the Sunday but failed to make contact. I rang him Monday morning. I said: "I've let you down in a massive way. You gave me the chance to play Test rugby. You stuck by me." 'Warren's a great coach and a top bloke. He didn't tell me I was going to be dropped from the squad but I knew he had to make a tough call. I knew it was a serious matter and it was all my fault.
'They had to make an example of me because you can't do what I did and expect to carry on as though nothing's happened.
'Alan Phillips then rang me back and said: "You're going to be put out of the squad."
'I'm absolutely gutted but I've got to put it behind me and move on. I've read about my nickname supposedly being 'Braindead' but that's not true. I'm a pretty wild character in that I like having a few laughs and playing a few pranks but I'm not brain-dead or anything like it.
'I understand those who say that I should never play for Wales again. But I've had about 120,000 messages of support on the internet from people saying they hope I get back in. I don't think it would be right for me to be at the game on Friday. I'll be rooting for the boys and I'll watch it somewhere on television, hiding behind a balaclava!
'I am truly sorry for what I've done. Now it's down to me to get back playing for Cardiff. I have to make sure I don't ever make the same mistake again.'
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