Former Australia captain David Pocock has been arrested after chaining himself to a digger in an environmental protest.
The 26-year-old joined around 30 protesters objecting plans to build the Maules Creek mine in the Leard State Forest, and chained himself to machinery for 10 hours.
"In 2014, to put a coal mine in the middle of a state forest just doesn't seem to make any sense," BBC Sport quotes Pocock as saying. "The local people are not only concerned about the effects of this mine on the climate in the future but also how it affects the water table."
The flanker, who has not played since March following knee surgery, has been warned by the Australian Rugby Union and is expected to appear in Narrabri Local Court on January 14.