Whilst football players certainly have a reputation for 'having their cake' etc as you so cleverly and delicately put it, Zonk, Rubgy players have a reputation for getting extremely drunk - and I do mean EXTREMELY drunk - and then behaving very badly as a result. Sometimes this is known as 'high spirits' or 'just being one of the lads', but there are often tales of some quite 'beyond acceptable' behaviour at even the top-end rugby clubs.
There have been some horrendous tales of 'initiation ceremonies' over the years - young lads dying of alcoholic poisoning etc when encouraged to try to down whole bottles of spirits etc - obviously that sort of extreme behaviour is the exception rather than the rule - but I know also of some clubs and pubs even going so far as to ban rugby players, apparently on the grounds that they are likely to 'cause' or 'get into trouble'. This ranges from rowdy drunkeness, to fights, to 'women trouble', the latter also usually felt to be inappropriate because it can lead to fights.
Hard to know what is really happening with Mike Tindall. I don't condone his behaviour for one moment, but he won't be the first professional rugby player this year to have done this sort of thing. I repeat, I do not find this acceptable, but it does happen. What I do find a bit hard to stomach is that Mike Tindall must surely realise that being married to the grandaughter of probably the most famous Monarch in the world does mean that you are going to lose a lot of your 'anonymity', and he must surely realise that this means a high profile and the sad fact that people and press will easily spot you if you are 'up to no good'.
Perhaps we have someone here who is familar with the antics of British rugby players generally who can comment on what I have said above?
Thanks
Alex