Ojo and Brown fined over New Zealand 'sex scandal'
RFU announces findings of investigation into 'sex scandal' on England rugby tour of New Zealand
Thursday, 10, Jul 2008 11:32
Two elite England rugby players have been fined and reprimanded for their roles in the 'sex scandal' involving a woman in a hotel room in New Zealand.
London Irish winger Topsy Ojo and Harlequins full-back Mike Brown were both found guilty of misconduct and were fined £500 and £1,000, respectively.
The two other players involved in the episode which occurred on the England tour of New Zealand last month - Harlequins players Danny Care and David Strettle - were both cleared of any wrongdoing, although Strettle was warned as to his future conduct.
The measures were handed down after the disciplinary officer of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Jeff Blackett, ruled that both Ojo and Brown had contravened the tour code of conduct by staying out all night.
Brown was also 20 minutes late for a physiotherapy appointment the following morning.
However, in his report Blackett also confirms he found "insufficient credible evidence of any illegal activity between any of those four players and the complainant" - which is in stark contrast to several media reports of the incident.
The investigation concluded that Strettle and Care had been the victims of circumstance in walking in on Ojo in the hotel room with the complainant, who had earlier stayed with Brown.
Similarly, Brown and Ojo were both only guilty of staying out late on a designated 'relaxation evening' following the first Test match of the tour earlier in the day and not, as some reports have claimed, any illegal activity.
As such, Blackett concluded the "errors of judgement" on the part of the players involved would not affect their future eligibility for England duty.
"Without any credible and tested evidence of serious wrongdoing it is impossible to gainsay the players' own accounts of what occurred," Blackett explained.
"This case has thus boiled down to no more than errors of judgement by young players on their first or second major international tour which are insufficient in themselves to effect future England selection.
"No doubt in the past England players on tour have stayed out too late, drunk excessive quantities of alcohol, invited guests back to the team hotel and missed physiotherapist appointments or training the next morning.
"Such activity is now inconsistent with the life of an elite professional rugby player in the modern era and with membership of a team seeking to be the best in the world."