Background and Method of Inquiry

1. On Saturday 14 June 2008 New Zealand played England in Auckland in the first test match of the summer tour. It was an evening kick off and the players returned to the team hotel (Hilton) for a meal. The RFU had asked Tony Ward (Wellington Hurricanes Team Manager) to act as tour manager for England during the tour. He had helped the Lions during their tour and is well regarded. Most major matches played in New Zealand take place in the evenings and there is a well worn routine for helping the players to relax after games. Mr Ward organised it for the England players to visit two bars where they could go for a few free drinks (the tab being provided by sponsors or breweries) and he also organised security guards to monitor the players and ensure they got back to the hotel safely. New Zealand players are used to these arrangements which have evolved for the protection of players from unwanted intrusion. There was no specific tour code of conduct or rules about drinking or prohibiting players inviting guests back to their hotel, and there was no curfew. Rules were issued in advance of the second test match relating to curfew and guests. An EPS Code of Conduct had been issued to the EPS squad in January 2008 and those players who had not been selected for that squad were generally aware that their conduct must not bring the Union into disrepute.

2. Sunday 15 June 2008 was a travelling day. Players had appointments with the physiotherapists at various times around breakfast that morning and there was an organised rehabilitation session in the swimming pool at 0900. There were no other scheduled team meetings or training sessions prior to the players’ departure.

3. After the meal in the hotel a number (but not all) of the players went to one or both of the bars that Mr Ward had organised for them to go to. Some met young women and took them back to the team hotel. Late on Sunday evening, one of the young women sought medical intervention at a hospital in Auckland. Although I have been told certain details about this young woman – the name she was known by, her age and where she said she worked – she will be referred to as “the complainant” in this report to protect her anonymity. She is content to disclose that she is 18 years old and she is not a lap dancer (as reported in some press articles). In the course of receiving some treatment it appears that she made a disclosure to medical staff that she was sexually violated by four playing members of the England squad and she confirmed that when the Police attended. As is the usual practice in New Zealand in such cases, the information was brought to the attention of the sexual abuse team which is part of the Criminal Investigation Branch of the New Zealand police and an investigation was commenced.

4. On Monday 16 June 2008 the police contacted Russell McVeagh, a firm of solicitors who had been engaged by the RFU before the tour started to act on the team’s behalf in New Zealand if any need arose. This is standard procedure for England touring teams. The police advised Russell McVeagh that the complainant had made an allegation of sexual abuse/rape, but that she had not yet made a formal complaint – that is she had not at that stage given the police a signed statement detailing her allegation. The police subsequently made a formal request to speak with four players who they named. This information was passed to Richard Smith QC, a member of the England party, who became the point of contact for further legal inquiries.

5. Those four named players, together with one other who had indicated that he was aware of some of the facts, received legal advice that they should decline to speak to the police. The players accepted that advice and the police were informed.

6. In the absence of any formal complaint the police did not move to charge or arrest any players. That position did not change up to the end of the tour so the players were permitted to leave New Zealand.

7. On Wednesday 18 June the Auckland police issued a press statement that a woman had complained that she had been seriously sexually assaulted by four England players. On Friday 20 June they issued a further press statement that the players had, on legal advice, declined to be interviewed. They also stated that no formal complaint had been made.

8. The first press release by the police led to a flurry of activity in the press. Speculation about what had occurred and who had been involved was rife and a number of reports appeared in the papers. Since then the media have continued to seek out additional information and this has made my inquiry more difficult because witnesses have been unwilling to speak to me without guarantees that their identities will be protected. On Sunday 22 June the News of the World published an “exclusive” story from another young woman which contained an account of her night with David Strettle in the team hotel. She said that their activity was entirely consensual and that he could not have been guilty of any criminal act with another girl because he was with her all night. On Tuesday 24 June the Sun newspaper published photographs of David Strettle, Danny Care, Topsy Ojo, and Mike Brown and named them as the four players alleged to have been involved in the affair.

9. Further speculation appeared in the press with commentators reporting a number of stories with allegations of excessive drinking, group sex and voyeurism. These allegations did not, as far as I am aware, emanate from the police but were probably picked up by members of the press who were sharing the same hotel as the players in the week after the first test match and were able to listen to speculation and comment.

10. During the tour the England management, on legal advice, decided not to start any formal disciplinary investigation but to refer the matter to me on return to England. On Wednesday 25 June the RFU Management Board resolved to ask me to inquire into the events surrounding these allegations and the press reports and to take the appropriate action.

11. I requested Russell McVeagh to seek clarification from the Auckland police about certain matters, which they did. On 27 June I received an answer from the Auckland police, through Russell McVeagh, informing me that the complainant decided that she would not make a complaint to the police because she does not want to go through the criminal process. However, the police would not “close their file” because she could theoretically change her mind and, according to the police, she stands by the allegations she originally made.