An England rugby international arrested over the alleged rape of a teenager has been suspended by club side Sale, the English Premiership outfit announced on Wednesday.
A 29 year-old, who is understood not to be a current member of Eddie Jones’ England squad, was held in Manchester this past Sunday following reports of an attack at a nightclub the day before.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Sale revealed they had been “made aware of an allegation against one of its players and the subsequent arrest of that player by Greater Manchester Police on Sunday”.
Their statement added: “The player in question has been suspended by Sale Sharks until further notice and is currently cooperating with police officers to assist in their investigation.
“As this matter is subject to a legal process there will be no further comment at this time.”
The only England-capped players in the current Sale squad are twins Tom and Ben Curry, Bevan Rodd, Raffi Quirke, Manu Tuilagi and Marland Yarde.
It is believed that the accused – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was not included in England’s last squad for the 2021 end-of-year Tests in November, thus eliminating Tom Curry, Rodd, Quirke and Tuilagi, who all featured in some capacity during their three matches against Tonga, Australia and South Africa.
Ben Curry made his Test debut in July 2021, while Yarde made 13 international appearances between 2013 and 2017.
© Agence France-Presse
