KANGAROOS coach Mal Meninga has backed his decision to dump Greg Inglis from his Test squad and strip him of the captaincy following drink driving and speeding charges.

On his way to Papua New Guinea with the Prime Minister’s XIII, Meninga said Inglis showed great leadership to own up to his mistake, but his behaviour did not match the standards he helped set for the national team.

“He was really an integral part of setting our team values around RISE (respect, inspiration, selflessness and excellence),” Meninga said.

“He’s stuffed up. He’s made a poor error in judgment and he’s paid the price for it.”

Inglis was announced as captain on Monday morning, but hours later was charged with drink driving and speeding offences on his way home from the Koori Knockout in Dubbo.

The 31-year-old addressed the media to apologise for his conduct on Tuesday, but refused to stand down from his role as skipper, before the NRL and Meninga announced he would cop a two-match ban, ruling him out of upcoming Tests against New Zealand and Tonga.

Origin and premiership-winning skipper Boyd Cordner will take over the role for the October Tests, but Meninga stopped short of saying Inglis has been ruled out of future captaincy.

“It’s great that Boyd Cordner gets the opportunity to captain his country, he’s had a terrific year and he’s a great leader and a great role model for our game. I just want to see Greg have a really strong off-season and start the season really well for the Rabbitohs. He’ll lead Queensland next year … then we’ll make some decisions at the back end of the year around our leaders or who our captain will be. I’m not even quite sure what our international schedule is at the moment.

“I have great admiration for Greg, he’s highly respected and love him dearly. I’ve been involved with him for many years.

“He was really excited about the role, the first indigenous captain since Arthur Beetson to captain his country in rugby league.

“He’s really disappointed in himself. He’s taken it on the chin, he’s admitted that he’s wrong and we move on.”

Inglis will face court in Lithgow next month.