Australian winger Andrew Walker has been dropped for disciplinary reasons from the squad for Saturday's Tri-Nations test against South Africa, Wallaby coach Eddie Jones announced yesterday.

Walker failed to make a connecting flight from Sydney to Perth on Sunday after Australia had retained the Bledisloe Cup on Saturday with a 23-15 victory over New Zealand in Dunedin.

The Australian Rugby Union said that team officials were unaware of Walker's location until he was contacted by telephone on Sunday night.

"While we understand Andrew's situation, we cannot tolerate players leaving the tour group without notice," Jones said. "We have to be professional in everything we do. Discipline must be paramount."

Walker said he had left the squad to return home for family reasons. "I should have told team management that I wasn't coming so I can understand that they stood me down for this match."