England Squad Fly Home After 'Difficult Week'

The England rugby squad is due to fly home after a second defeat by New Zealand's All Blacks.

The England team has faced a difficult week with four of its squad accused of an alleged sex assault at the Hilton Hotel in Auckland on 15 June.

Auckland Police had confirmed the nature of the assault as a "serious sexual assault allegation" last Friday.

However, the players had advised police through legal representation that they "declined to be interviewed by police".

It is understood that that no formal statement has been made by the woman who made the allegations and that the absence of such a statement meant that the four were free to leave the country.

Rugby Football Union (RFU) Chief Executive Francis Baron said in a TV interview that he was "desperate" to clear the players' names but that "it was a very strange situation" as "no complaint had been made.

In response to the scandal, England rugby bosses have confirmed a new code of conduct, which will be implemented for England players on July 1 when they sign a new contract.

Director of Elite Rugby, Rob Andrew, told BBC Radio 4 Live's Sportsweek that "there are lots of issues" being negotiated with the players' union "at this point of time".

"It's been a difficult week, a tough week for all. We've had to deal with it in the best way we possibly can given the fact there is an ongoing police inquiry and that makes it difficult for us to comment on any of the issues," he said.

Former England skipper Will Carling has said that he has "no idea" how a code of conduct should be drawn up.

"These guys train very hard," he said, "there has got to be some element of being to relax and get away from rugby."

It is understood that new coach Martin Johnson and the RFU will announce both an elite player squad and a junior squad and a new code of conduct will be in place for the next tour.

(DS)