The rugby player involved in a nightclub brawl with England cricketers Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson has been identified as Totoa Auvaa.
Auvaa is a 21-year-old Samoan whose height and weight are listed as 6ft 5in and 125kg and was at the Rex Rooms nightclub on the Kings Road, Chelsea, in the early hours of Monday morning.
Daily Mail Sport understands an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) security guard, out supervising England captain Stokes and Atkinson, was injured in the incident – after an initial punch was aimed at Atkinson. A melee then ensued. Stokes and Atkinson are understood to be unhurt.
It was understood to have been sparked by a disagreement over tables in a VIP area of the club.
Stokes, 35 last week, was named in a statement released at 6pm on Monday by the ECB as being alongside team-mate Atkinson after the midnight curfew – imposed following last winter’s Ashes tour and has remained in place – was broken.
Saracens player Totoa Auvaa was involved in the nightclub incident with England’s cricketers
England cricketers Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were at ‘Chelsea’s naughtiest night club’
A larger group of England cricketers were drinking at the White Horse pub in Parsons Green to celebrate their first Test win over New Zealand, alongside a group of Saracens players at their end-of-season party.
Stokes and Atkinson then moved on to the Rex Rooms, which is open until 3.30am and has been described as ‘Chelsea’s naughtiest night club’.
Saracens last night confirmed they are aware of an incident involving one of their players. Daily Mail Sport understands the altercation was not instigated by the two cricketers, who were out drinking near England’s Kensington hotel.
But neither player is expected to be named in England’s squad for The Oval next week while an investigation takes place, meaning that Harry Brook – himself the subject of a late-night probe that saw him fined £30,000 and given an official reprimand – will lead the team.
‘The ECB is currently investigating a breach of team protocols following the conclusion of the first men’s Test against New Zealand,’ read a statement from the governing body.
‘Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were present at a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning when an incident took place.
‘We are currently seeking further information, and an announcement regarding the squad for the second Test will be made in due course.
‘The Cricket Regulator has been informed and we will provide a further update when possible.’
The regulator is an independent body that looks into cases of misconduct and will look into their behaviour in the aftermath of England’s 115-run victory over the Kiwis at Lord’s in which Atkinson bagged match figures of seven for 39.
But it is the worst possible news for a governing body desperate to clean up the image of an England team defeated 4-1 by Australia on an Ashes tour that followed Brook being punched by a Wellington night spot bouncer and featured a boozy mid-series break for the squad in Noosa likened to a stag do.
A late night video of Ben Duckett in the Queensland resort was posted on social media, with the opener appearing to be intoxicated.
A security guard was injured in the incident at the Rex Rooms in Chelsea
The ECB’s men’s director of cricket Rob Key investigated the time in Noosa, but denied the team had a drinking culture.
But it later emerged that Brook had been investigated for being out late on the night of Halloween – hours before a one-day international defeat to New Zealand.
Brook, 27, initially made a statement of apology making clear he had been alone on the night in question, only for it later to emerge he was covering up for Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue.
He apologised for lying and all three were subject of the regulator’s inquiry. Brook and Bethell were handed caution notices for contravening player conduct rules. No further action was taken against Tongue, who was in New Zealand in a training rather than playing capacity.
During the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka and Twenty20 World Cup that followed, England’s players avoided late night drinking in public, although they did mingle with fans to celebrate victories in the bars of team hotels.
On Sunday, Stokes said at his post-match press conference that he was looking forward to sharing a celebratory beer with his team-mates in the home dressing room after putting a chastening winter for the Test team behind them with a quick fire victory on a lottery of a Lord’s pitch.
Ironically, he gave up alcohol for large swathes of the winter in a bid to get fit for the 2026 season after fracturing his cheekbone in a freak net incident with Durham.
The second Test begins on June 17, with England’s selectors of Key, Brendon McCullum and Marcus North expected to be told by their bosses that Stokes and Atkinson cannot be considered in the circumstances.
In 2018, Stokes was cleared of affray following a fight outside a Bristol nightclub hours after an England one-day international at the end of the 2017 season.
But it cost him a place in the 2017-18 Ashes and this latest episode is set to send him back to the sidelines again.
