News
'Auckland Four' could be named
June 22 2008
The four England players at the centre of allegations of sexual assault could be named by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in order to safeguard the reputations of other members of the tour squad.
England suffered two comprehensive defeats to the All Blacks, but the tour of New Zealand was overshadowed by allegations against four players of a "serious sexual assault" on an 18-year-old women in a private room of the Auckland Hilton in the wake of the first Test.
The Auckland City Criminal Investigation Branch is investigating the alleged incident, which was brought to their attention by a third party on Sunday evening.
The four players were advised by the England team lawyer, Richard Smith QC, to decline being interviewed by police on the grounds that no official complaint has yet been made by the alleged victim.
But the RFU is concerned that all the players in the squad could be affected by association with the allegations, regardless of their involvement or the veracity of the claims.
The RFU is now considering setting up an internal inquiry, to be conducted by disciplinary officer Jeff Blackett, in which the accused might be named.
"The team can't come back [from New Zealand] and nothing happens," Blackett, the Judge Advocate General, told Britain's Sunday Telegraph.
"Something's got to happen and something has to be made public.
"The consideration that there are a number of entirely uninvolved players - and that unless others are named those innocent players may be tainted by association - is a consideration we have to think about."
One player who appears to be in the clear is David Strettle. A female bar worker has provided an alibi for the Harlequins star in the shape of a lurid kiss-and-tell story.
Sophie Lewis - aka Angel Barbie - claims she was ferried back to the Hilton by official minders and spent the entire night with the "energetic" wing.
"I know David definitely wasn't involved [in the alleged incident] because he was with me," the 22-year-old told the News of the World in exchange for NZ$12,000 ($9,150).
"It just sounds really weird to me that they would do that because the players I met were all really nice."