Hopley defends tourists' conduct

PRA chief Damian Hopley has refused to condemn the conduct of England's stars during a fortnight to forget in New Zealand.

PRA chief Damian Hopley has refused to condemn the conduct of England's stars during a chaotic fortnight in New Zealand.

England were thumped 37-20 in the opening Test in Auckland, yet a section of the squad later embarked on a drinking session at a nightclub that concluded with women returning to the team hotel.

Four players, who were named in a newspaper on Tuesday morning, were the subject of a serious sexual assault allegation from one of the women, although no charge has been made by New Zealand police and the quartet deny any wrong-doing.

In contrast, the Welsh team refused to drink alcohol after being crushed 43-17 by South Africa little over two weeks ago, instead rising at 7.30am the following morning to begin preparations for the second Test ahead of schedule.

But Hopley, speaking about the general conduct of some England players in Auckland and not about the allegations of sexual assault, declared the squad retained the Professional Rugby Players' Association backing.

“It's not for me to judge what players do. They're under the jurisdiction of the Rugby Football Union,” he said.

“They're professional sportsmen at the end of a long season. I'm not going to condemn or condone the players for what they get up to.

“The players have my full support. That's my position and the position of the Professional Rugby Players' Association.

“They're under the jurisdiction of England so it's nonsensical to ask if the PRA condones or condemns their actions.”

Rugby Football Union Chief Executive Francis Baron admitted the reputation of English rugby had been damaged by the reports emerging from Auckland.

A new code of conduct is being drawn up, in conjunction with the PRA, which is likely to include a ban on taking women back to the team hotel and Hopley accepted that rugby's growing profile means players are now “fair game” for media scrutiny.

“What this tour has done is make players aware, if they weren't already, that they're fair game,” he said.

“We've seen it in our footballing colleagues and in other sports. It was inevitable this would happen with rugby.

“The players' profiles have grown immeasurably over the last few years.

“They are earning good money and so we need to be sensible how we treat these young men and how they conduct themselves in public.

“Rugby has been very lucky as a sport in terms of the coverage it gets, but there is a definite sea change.

“This has been a very steep learning curve, one that we would have liked to have taken on our own terms, not on other terms.

“But we are where we are and we have to do what we can to restore the image of the game, if it has been tarnished.”

Further support for a team that has been mired in controversy on and off the pitch during the tour came from front-row legend Jeff Probyn, who insisted players need the “release” of downtime away from the pitch.

Probyn, who made 37 appearances for England between 1988 and 1993, today claimed it was acceptable for players to relax after Test matches by visiting nightspots.

“The reality is players need a release, but it's up to individuals to be adult enough to control themselves,” he said.

“Once the game is over, what can you do? You can't change the score.

“As long as players are on the training park when they need to be and can perform, surely it's better to get the loss out of their system than to sit stewing in a hotel room?

“It happened during Sir Clive Woodward's era – after games Clive used to take the boys to the nightclub himself in a coach.

“Martin Johnson used to go out on the town just like everyone else. Will he suddenly turn into a headmaster overnight?

“Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Carling almost ruined their careers and look at what they became – stalwarts of the game.

“Many of the players are single blokes so why can't they meet a girl and take them back to their room?

“People need to get a sense of proportion on this issue. It's not like the team got drunk 24 hours before a match.”