Totoa Auvaa, rugby player involved in Stokes' nightclub altercation, sacked over new incident

Months after an altercation at a London nightclub plunged England cricket into headlines, Saracens rugby player Totoa Auvaa has been sacked following an entirely separate incident. Auvaa, England seamer Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes were at the centre of an uncalled-for controversy, which later led to Stokes’ shocking decision to relinquish his Test captaincy and step aside from England cricket.

Per the latest reports, Saracens sacked Auvaa for punching another man in St Albans this weekend. The rugby club announced it was carrying out a thorough investigation into an unnamed academy player before confirming that Auvaa left the club with immediate effect.

"Saracens can confirm that Totoa Auvaa, a member of the senior men's academy, has left the club with immediate effect. 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,” the club statement read.

Infamous London Nightclub Incident

Shortly after leading England to a convincing 115-run win over New Zealand in the series opener at Lord’s, Stokes and Atkinson were out celebrating, where a reported altercation broke out between the two and Auvaa. There, Auvaa landed a punch, aimed at Atkinson, on a member of England’s security staff in the Rex Room nightclub in Chelsea in June.

That episode prompted the ECB to suspend Atkinson and Stokes, with the two being dropped from the squad for the second Test, which the visitors won to level the series. Although the Independent Cricket Regulator and ECB’s own probe said that they breached specific contractual obligations, Stokes and Atkinson were not blamed for their conduct.

Stokes and Atkinson returned to contention for the series decider at Trent Bridge, where, late during the fourth day, the ECB announced Stokes’ decision to retire from international cricket.