In light of allegations that a Leinster player urinated on a stranger's leg in a pub on the same night that a former player from the province assaulted a current member of the youth academy, Alan Quinlan considered the toxicity of drinking cultures.
"These are the kind of things that Leinster wouldn't want to wake up to the next day," Alan Quinlan noted of the allegations that emerged after the province celebrated its Pro14 final win on Wednesday's OTB AM, "and the IRFU doesn't want it to happen either.
"I've been all over the world on different [rugby] tours, and you have these blow-outs.
"Is everything perfect? Far from it. Do players take off their tops and start dancing on bars? Have there been rows and incidents? Nothing major, but I've seen a lot.
"I've seen bad behaviour out of people, but I think its different nowadays. Without justifying any bad behaviour I've seen, it is different.
"Players need to realise now that you're being scrutinised so much more, but obviously there is no excuse for urinating on someone's leg.
"He's not the first rugby player who's done it though, I have heard of it before."
With the IRFU currently liaising with Leinster to establish the legitimacy of the allegations, Quinlan, who represented both Munster and Ireland throughout his professional career, shared his insight into rugby's drinking culture and the current dangers players face.
"I just think the culture of drinking in sport always divides opinion," Quinlan suggested.
"Players can go on the piss for a couple of days, but they've got to behave.
"We've had rows over the years where there's been a couple of slaps thrown, among ourselves, and it's all been sorted.
"There's a obviously a situation here [with Leinster] where someone's been assaulted and that's quite serious."
Reflecting on his own career, a particular night sticks in Quinlan's mind.
"We've had situations like that [in Munster], a Christmas party in Kilkenny where the behaviour wasn't great.
"Everybody's had that, not just in sport, where people have rows or arguments at parties.
"But we sat down afterward as a group of players and said, 'Look, this is not what we're about.'
"There was an understanding on that occasion that there had been reckless drinking involved. People just got out of hand and out of control.
"I remember that the old-school culture involved drinking games at the end of the year, and you'd be drinking beer.
"By the time I'd finished playing rugby, you'd be drinking whiskey or vodka.
"That kind of drinking is crazy."
Crucially, Alan Quinlan is pleased that the allegations have come to light, and is hopeful that it can counteract the chance of such events repeating themselves.
"It's unfortunate, but I do think it needed to be highlighted," he said, "there's a lesson in it for everyone."
