Tongan star Jason Taumalolo says he was too drunk to answer desperate calls from Kiwis coach David Kidwell after he made the shock decision to switch allegiances for the Rugby League World Cup.
The 24-year-old broke his silence and finally explained his thinking behind his decision to turn his back on the Kiwis to represent the Pacific Island side following Tonga's stunning 28-22 upset victory over New Zealand in Hamilton.
The world's best forward was slammed for leaving the Kiwis in the lurch and was accused by Kiwis captain Adam Blair of disrespecting Kidwell and the black and white jersey for failing to front up and explain himself.
The North Queensland lock admitted he had regrets about the way the drama unfolded but revealed he was too intoxicated to even think about picking up the phone as he enjoyed the excesses of the Cowboys celebrations following their grand final defeat to Melbourne.
"Half the reason was because I was still blind on Mad Monday then so that probably didn't help," Taumalolo said.
"Being drunk and handling phones doesn't go to well if you ask me. That's got me in some pretty bad situations.
"Post-season celebrations were probably one of the reasons I had to make my decision and obviously teams were being finalised so that was probably the main reason why.
"I definitely could have handled it a lot better, that's probably the biggest (regret)."
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