Wigan have announced that Zak Hardaker will remain with the Super League champions in 2019 despite pleading guilty to a drink-driving charge last week – but the full-back will undergo alcohol rehabilitation treatment with the Sporting Chance Clinic in an attempt to salvage his career.
Hardaker was given a 20-month driving ban after being stopped by police in September, only days after beginning training with the Warriors, when he was more than twice over the legal limit. He is currently serving a 14-month ban from playing after testing positive for cocaine last year but, under UK Anti-Doping regulations, was allowed to start training before the ban’s completion.
The drink-driving incident put his future with Wigan in doubt but the Warriors have insisted they will not terminate the 27-year-old’s contract, instead deciding to send him on a “period of treatment for his relationship with alcohol”. That involves a residential stay at Sporting Chance.
In a statement Wigan’s owner, Ian Lenagan, said: “Firstly, I’d like to make clear that we are extremely disappointed with Zak’s actions on the evening of 26 September. Drink driving is completely unacceptable, and we are pleased the matter has been dealt with by the courts so firmly.
“It would be easy for us to cut our losses with Zak and deny him the opportunity to play for Wigan but we are not going to do that. Our duty of care as employers is to help Zak address the fundamental problems that he has had for some time – issues that we believe could and should have been confronted already. Zak will enter a residential facility in the coming weeks and how he commits during this course will not only define his rugby career but potentially set him on a more productive path for the rest of his life.”
Hardaker said: “I’d like to wholeheartedly apologise for my actions. The first thing I need to accept is that I have a problem and I’ll be throwing all my efforts into sorting that out. I’d like to thank Wigan for supporting me through this and I will do everything I can to repay their faith in me.”
