Rugby: England international reportedly arrested under suspicion of rape of teenager

UK police have been inundated with reports of drink-spiking and drug-abuse incidents at nightclubs over the past year. Photo / Getty

An England rugby representative has reportedly been arrested on rape charges in the United Kingdom.

The player, whose age and name has been legally suppressed, was arrested on Sunday (UK time) following a report of an attack on a teenager at a nightclub on the Saturday evening; according to the Daily Mail.

A second person was also arrested, a 41-year-old woman, and was held by police on suspicion of administering a substance with intent to cause a sexual offence.

"Officers were called shortly before 11am on Sunday January 9 to a report of a sexual assault on a female," a police spokesperson told the Daily Mail.

"A woman in her late teens was reported to have been sexually assaulted."

Both people held by police were subsequently released on bail as investigations continue.

"A man was arrested on suspicion of rape and a woman was arrested on suspicion of administering a substance with intent to cause a sexual offence.

"Both have since been released on bail as enquiries continue and a number of lines of enquiry are being followed up by detectives."

The reported arrests come at time when the UK is dealing with a marked increase of reports of drink spiking and needle "spiking" - where women report being injected with drugs in the back or in the leg at nightclubs.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said there had been 198 confirmed reports of drink spiking in September and October 2021 alone across the UK.