2 min learnUp to date: Jun 9, 2026 05:22 PM IST
The Saracens rugby participant who was concerned in a late-night incident with England captain Ben Stokes and pacer Gus Atkinson is believed to a 21-year-old Samoan Totoa Auvaa.
Auvaa, who’s 6ft 5in and weighs 125kg hasn’t performed for Saracens’s first group but, however in accordance with reviews rising from UK, was a part of a celebration. In keeping with The Occasions, Auvaa, who a part of the academy, is known to have thrown a punch within the early hours of Monday morning supposed for Atkinson, nevertheless it ended up hitting a member of ECB’s safety workers.
In keeping with the report, Stokes and Atkinson have been within the VIP part of the nightclub, hours after England gained the primary Check in opposition to New Zealand on the Lord’s. Across the similar time, Saracens gamers have been celebrating their finish of the season on the nightclub. In keeping with the Occasions, Saracens gamers and a bunch of England cricketers have been collectively within the White Horse pub in Fulham after which visited a minimum of two different pubs within the space earlier than transferring to the one in Chelsea. Though round 6-7 cricketers have been out having fun with the night, solely Stokes and Atkinson stayed again past the mid-night curfew imposed on England group because the allegations of late-night consuming emerged in the course of the Australia tour.
Because the incident was made public by the ECB, they’ve maintained that neither Stokes or Atkinson have been the aggressors within the incident. Nonetheless, it’s not clear if any additional punches have been thrown after Auvaa landed the primary blow.
With the incident as soon as once more exposing the alleged consuming tradition in England set-up, there are indications that Stokes might step down as captain or ECB might stand him down. Whereas a affirmation on it anticipated later, Stokes and Atkinson are anticipated to overlook the second Check with Harry Brook set to the captain. Brook, himself, was on the centre of a consuming incident at the beginning of the Ashes tour, which got here out solely after the sequence was over.