England reprimand three players

Martin Johnson’s England will meet France in Auckland next Saturday

England manager Martin Johnson has reprimanded three players for inappropriate comments made to a female hotel worker.

James Haskell, Dylan Hartley and Chris Ashton were made to formally apologise.

The incident occurred in the days before England moved from Dunedin to Queenstown, where a night out by some players also hit the headlines.

To add to Johnson’s problems, Delon Armitage has been cited for a dangerous high tackle on Chris Paterson.

The tackle came during England’s 16-12 victory over Scotland on Saturday.

The winger has been called to appear before a disciplinary hearing in Auckland on Monday, starting at 0100 BST.

The offence carries a guideline suspension of between two and 10 matches.

Johnson now faces the prospect of facing France in the quarter-finals on Saturday without Armitage and against the backdrop of more negative headlines.

The England manager said of Haskell, Hartley and Ashton: “I was angry with them. It is just the sort of thing we have talked about.

“What they thought was humour and a light-hearted exchange has clearly not been taken that way by Annabelle [Newton], the girl involved.

“At the time they apologised when they realised they had stepped over the mark. They had no idea how upset she subsequently became.

“We were in Queenstown for a few days. When we returned I spoke to the hotel manager, apologised to him for the disturbance we had caused to him and his staff.

“The guys formally apologised. They were shocked when they understood how upset she had become.

“We investigated the facts fully. They have been disciplined. They have been reprimanded for their behaviour and left in no doubt.

“If leave rself open for these headlines to be written it drags us all into it and that is what makes me particularly angry.”

England beat Scotland 16-12 on Saturday to book a quarter-clash against France next weekend.

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