Saracens have dismissed academy player Totoa Auvaa following an alleged late-night altercation in St Albans, just four months after he was involved in a nightclub melee with England cricket stars Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes.
The 21-year-old back-row had escaped punishment in June for his part in an incident that saw Stokes and Atkinson stood down for England's second Test against New Zealand. England captain Stokes later retired from Test cricket at the end of that series.
Second incident leads to departure
Auvaa has now been named as the player involved in a second incident, prompting the Gallagher Premiership club to end his contract with immediate effect. Earlier on Monday, the club had announced that an academy player had been stood down following an off-field incident on Saturday.
After initially saying they would not comment further until an investigation had established the facts, Saracens issued a further statement confirming Auvaa had left the club.
"Saracens can confirm that Totoa Auvaa, a member of the Senior Men's Academy, has left the club with immediate effect," the statement read. "Following an incident this weekend, the club has determined that his conduct falls short of the standards expected of everyone who represents Saracens, both on and off the pitch.
"We take our responsibilities to our supporters, young people and partners seriously and we remain committed to upholding the standards of our conduct expected across the club. We will not be making any further comment on this matter."
Police investigating alleged assault
Hertfordshire Police said: "Police are investigating an altercation which occurred between 2.15am and 2.20am on Sunday (October 11) in St Peter's Street, St Albans. It is alleged a man aged in his 20s was approached by another man who then punched him to the face. Enquiries are ongoing at this time."
In June, Auvaa had avoided any formal sanction for his role in the clash with England's cricketers. In the early hours of June 8, the back-row aimed a punch at Atkinson that missed and struck a member of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) security staff, who required stitches.
Saracens conducted their own investigation at the time, standing by Auvaa while criticising the ECB for not involving them in the process. Saracens hooker Jamie George had called Auvaa's actions "unacceptable".
"He's a young kid who has only left Samoa once," George said. "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.
"There's also a bit of me that thinks we've got to look after him because he doesn't know right from wrong at the minute. We'll look after him. We will make sure that he's got role models around him."
