KEY POINTS:
The woman at the centre of sex allegations against four England rugby players will not break her silence, even though a Rugby Football Union (RFU) inquiry today was critical of her approach.
Two England players were reprimanded and fined overnight after being found guilty of misconduct during last
month's tour of New Zealand.
Fullback Mike Brown and winger Topsy Ojo were each fined 1,000 pounds($2640) by the English Rugby Football Union.
The disciplinary investigation reprimanded them for staying up all night and warned against putting themselves in "any compromising situations."
Winger David Strettle and halfback Danny Care were cleared.
The RFU found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by any players.
New Zealand police wanted to interview Brown, Ojo, Care and another unnamed player other than Strettle in connection with sexual misconduct allegations involving an 18-year-old woman in Auckland.
She made no formal complaint to New Zealand police, and the RFU found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
Judge Jeff Blackett criticised the lack of evidence provided by the woman involved.
Judge Blackett was also critical of Chapman Tripp, the firm of solicitors in Auckland representing the woman, whose letter to the RFU was leaked to media outlets in New Zealand.
Glenda Hughes, the spokeswoman for the woman said today her client was willing to leave the public to make up their own minds as to what took place.
"She will not be making herself available, she won't be making any comment going forward," Ms Hughes said.
"Her privacy is her No 1 priority, and she understands if she says anything that privacy is at risk."
In his report Judge Blackett said "Chapman Tripp's letter has also constrained the way in which I have been able to conclude this inquiry, and that is particularly unsatisfactory".
"Without any credible and tested evidence of serious wrongdoing it is impossible to gainsay the players' own accounts of what occurred."
In the letter, signed by Chapman Tripp partner Jack Hodder, to Judge Blackett the woman said she was sexually violated by four players.
The injuries she received caused the medical professionals treating her to refer her to police.
The letter said the woman would not appear before the English disciplinary committee, would not lay a formal complaint with New Zealand police, and had not talked to news media about the allegations because she wanted to maintain her privacy.
Ms Hughes today said the letter was distributed to the media, because its intent was to clear up misconceptions about the incident, and those misconceptions were in the media.
As a former police officer she understood that would pose difficulties for the investigation, as when one party wanted privacy it was hard to test the evidence.
"This case has thus boiled down to no more than errors of judgment by young players on their first or second major international tour, which are insufficient in themselves to affect future England selection," RFU disciplinary officer Judge Blackett wrote.
"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."
The investigation centred on the players' night out after England's 37-20 loss to the All Blacks in the first test.
Blackett found that Brown and Ojo, along with other unnamed players, met the woman in a bar in the early hours of Sunday, June 15 and she accompanied them back to the team hotel some time after 7am.
She was alone with Brown in his hotel bedroom until he left at 8.35am for a physiotherapist appointment for which he was 20 minutes late.
Then, Ojo was alone in the room with her when he went to check if Brown went to the appointment.
"(Care and Strettle) popped their heads round the unlocked interconnecting door of the room at about 0855 and saw Ojo with the complainant. They were there for no more than a few seconds," Blackett wrote.
Blackett concluded that New Zealand police were "injudicious" to issue statements about the incident when no formal complaint had been made.
"It led to and generated unhelpful press speculation which took on a life of its own," he said.
Blackett also said players should be alert to the growing interest in rugby.
"(Players) will increasingly become part of the celebrity culture and have to live with the pitfalls which accompany such a lifestyle," he said. "There is clearly 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.
"This is most important in relation to very young players who do not yet have the life skills to cope with sudden stardom."
Blackett concluded that the RFU should reconsider allowing the media to stay in the same hotel as the players.
The All Blacks won the second test 44-12 in Christchurch on June 21.
- AP and NZPA
