ENGLAND

Ojo and Brown fined

Thursday 10th July 2008

Topsy Ojo: All but cleared

Topsy Ojo and Mike Brown have been fined and reprimanded after being found guilty of misconduct following a report by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), on the recent tour of New Zealand, as a result of the alleged sexual assault claim by an Auckland woman.

Jeff Blackett, the RFU's chief disciplinary officer who conducted the inquiry, has found David Strettle and Danny Care not guilty of misconduct.

Ojo was fined �500 and reprimanded after he was found to have stayed out all night. Brown was fined �1,000 and reprimanded after also staying out all night and arriving late for a physiotherapist appointment.

Ojo, Brown and Care were at the centre of sexual assault allegations following England's 37-20 defeat by the All Blacks in Auckland. But no official complaint was made against the players, who denied any wrongdoing.

"All the players I have interviewed vehemently deny any criminal wrongdoing," Blackett said in his report released on Thursday.

"I have seen or heard no evidence which has been tested to gainsay those denials."

Strettle was not in the list of people the New Zealand police wished to interview, Blackett said.

Explaining the sequence of events that led to the complaint being made, Blackett said "Mike Brown and Topsy Ojo [together and with some other players] visited a number of bars in the early morning after the first Test match.

"They met the complainant and she eventually accompanied them back to the team hotel some time after 07:00 on Sunday morning. She went to Brown's room and was there alone with her.

"At about 08:35 Brown left the room and attended a physiotherapist appointment and while he was there, Topsy Ojo [who had gone to the room to ensure Brown went to see the physiotherapist] was in the room alone with the complainant.

"Danny Care had returned to the hotel at sometime between 01:30 and 03:00.

"David Strettle had returned to the hotel at sometime between 03:30 and 05:00.

"Care and Strettle popped their heads round the unlocked interconnecting door of the room at about 08:55 and saw Ojo with the complainant. They were there for no more than a few seconds.

"Brown admitted that he was a bit tipsy while in the bars, although in control. He also accepts he was 20 minutes late for his physiotherapist appointment in the morning.

"All of the other players admit modest, but not excessive, alcohol consumption and they all attended their morning physiotherapist appointments on time.

"They believed that they could relax a little more than normal because the day following the Test match was a travelling day."

In his report, Blackett said that during discussions with the London Irish winger, Ojo accepted that "a young woman with whom he says he had a consensual relationship has caused an allegation to be made in the media which has caused damage to the image of England rugby".

He was fined �500 for staying out all night and was warned about his future conduct.

While Blackett reiterated he could find no evidence to support the complainant's allegations, he declared the players' conduct was unsuitable for professional sportsmen.

Blackett summarised: "Without any credible and tested evidence of serious wrongdoing, it is impossible to gainsay the players' own accounts of what occurred.

"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 affect 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.

"But 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."

England's management - led by director of rugby Rob Andrew - drew heavy criticism following the events in Auckland but Blackett refused to blame them for any perceived indiscipline or misconduct.

The disciplinary boss declared that the players were entitled to some relaxation to "let off steam away from public scrutiny".

However, Blackett stated that there is a "need for a tighter rein on players when they are on England duty and they all need to be given clear guidelines about the limits of acceptable behaviour".

He also criticised some of the coverage that the incident and subsequent fallout had received in the tabloid press.