The New Zealand Rugby Union has been accused of failing under-fire All Black Zac Guildford.

Zac Guildford may need a break from rugby for a number of years but should not be cut adrift, people closely involved with rehabilitating other athletes say.

When Zac Guildford is sidelined for his latest alcohol-related incident - and unfortunately for him and the Crusaders it is a foregone conclusion - he won't be the only one to pay the price.

All Blacks wing Zac Guildford has voluntarily stood down from involvement with the Crusaders after a late-night incident at a residential home in Christchurch last weekend.

During the ITM Cup, new Chiefs midfielder Bundee Aki would have had few troubles producing a skite tape to impress the coaching staff of the Super Rugby champions.

A good season for the Chiefs has often meant something relatively trivial like winning more games than they lost. Starting badly and finishing with a pointless roar was their speciality.