Saracens’ George slams Auvaa’s ‘unacceptable behaviour’ in nightclub incident with England cricketers

Jamie George has criticised his Saracens teammate Totoa Auvaa's unacceptable behaviour during the nightclub incident that led to England cricketers being dropped, but insisted he was a good kid. The England international and former captain described the 21-year-old Samoan back-row as a rabbit in the headlights in London and said the academy player doesn't know right from wrong.

The incident took place at the Rex Rooms in Chelsea in the early hours of 8 June. Saracens called the events regrettable for all parties involved and said they remained supportive of their player.

Auvaa threw a punch at Atkinson which missed and struck an England and Wales Cricket Board security guard. The security guard required stitches but opted not to report the matter to the police.

"He's a young kid who has only left Samoa once. He is immature. He is a rabbit in the headlights in London. He's a good kid but he's got it wrong. There's no disputing that. But we need to make sure that we establish that sort of behaviour is unacceptable," George was reported as saying by the Times and Telegraph.

Following the incident, England captain Ben Stokes and Atkinson were stood down for the second Test against New Zealand pending the results of a disciplinary investigation into a breach of team protocols. They were recalled for the current third Test after an investigation by the independent Cricket Regulator found insufficient evidence against the pair.

A parallel investigation by the ECB also absolved Stokes and Atkinson of any wrongdoing, albeit they were issued with written conduct warnings for contravening specific contractual obligations. George's comments represent the first significant public statement from a senior Saracens figure addressing the incident and the conduct of their young player during the troubling episode.