15 Jun 2013

Tamou stood down for Origin Two

6:37 am on 15 June 2013

The New South Wales league prop James Tamou has been stood down for game two of the State of Origin series after it emerged that he had three passengers in the car he was driving unlicensed and almost four times over the legal alcohol limit.

The 24-year-old was fined $50,000 and will miss two matches after being arrested in Townsville driving the car with three female passengers when he was stopped by police in the early hours of the morning.

Tamou was initially fined $30,000 but the NRL's chief executive Dave Smith ordered the code's integrity unit to increase the penalty after expressing his disgust that he put the lives of others in danger.