Munster winger and former All-Black, Doug Howlett may find himself facing either an adult warning or a fine after he was arrested by gardaí following a public order incident in Kilkenny city earlier this week.
Howlett was arrested by gardaí after they received a call that that there was an altercation between a number of men outside Mick the Miller's pub on the corner of John Street and John's Quay in Kilkenny at around 1.40am on Tuesday.
Howlett was brought to Kilkenny Garda Station but was later released without charge and it's understood that the incident is likely be dealt with by way of either an adult caution or under the Fixed Penalty Charge System.
A number of Munster players had been socialising together at Langton's Hotel earlier on Monday night and Howlett took issue with the behaviour of one of his teammates who was also taken to task over his behaviour by a member of the public in the bar.
An argument then broke out between a number of the Munster players and some local members of the public and it's understood that the dispute continued when the group moved on to the street heading towards Mick the Miller's pub, a garda source told The Irish Times.
"Dougie was a bit unlucky - he was remonstrating with his teammate when a local fellow waded in and started giving out as well - it then turned into the Munster lads versus the locals but it was all a bit of handbags really and Dougie was unlucky to be arrested," said the source.
Another garda source described the incident as "a minor matter — the type of thing that can happen in any town in the country on any night of the week" and said that it would hardly merit a mention but for the fact that Howlett is such a well known sportsman.
First capped by the All-Blacks in 2000, 32 year old Howlett scored a record 49 tries in 62 tests for the Kiwis before joining Munster in 2008 when he helped the Irish province capture its second European Heineken Cup with a win over Toulouse.
Yesterday, Munster Rugby issued a statement in relation to the incident, confirming one of its players was arrested for a public order offence but it did not identify or name player in question.