Locked up.

It has emerged that Wallabies legend George Smith was arrested in Japan on New Year’s Eve for a drunken incident, and detained for 18 days, with his management managing to keep it under wraps until recently.

The legendary flanker was arrested on suspicion of evading a $110 taxi fare and assaulting the driver, according to WA Today. He was taken to a nearby police station and detained in the early hours of the morning on December 31.

When news broke of the arrest last Wednesday, Smith astonishingly was still in custody. Smith claims he was drunk when the incident happened and does not remember any of it.

He was released the next day, with no charges brought against him. His club Suntory issue an unreserved apology to the taxi driver and “anyone affected”, and also cancelled their victory parade having won the Japanese Top League a few days earlier.

Smith is set to return to the Queensland Reds in the coming days, and still has a year remaining on his $500,000-a-season deal with Suntory. You can read the full story here.