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England pair Ben Te'o and Billy Vunipula caught up in late night hotel drama
England pair Ben Te’o and Billy Vunipola have been reprimanded after breaching team protocol following England’s final round 38-all draw with Scotland, according to reports by The Guardian.
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The pair arrived late back at the hotel in the early hours of Sunday morning following a night out following the second-half nightmare at Twickenham. Their late arrival back at the Chiswick base was followed by unruly behaviour that upset those in the vicinity.
England do not have a curfew but players must return together after leaving the hotel.
The RFU has dealt with the matter internally, with Te’o offering an apology to the team.
Eddie Jones has taken a hardline approach to off-field behaviour within the England squad. After Manu Tuilagi and Denny Solomona returned to the team hotel at 4 am following a drinking session in 2017 both players were sent home from the training camp. They were both omitted for the next training camp by Jones.
Flyhalf Danny Cipriani has not been seen since his England recall last June after he was involved and arrested in, an altercation at a nightclub in August. On that occasion, Cipriani faced a disciplinary hearing from the RFU after bringing the game into disrepute.
Te’o and Vunipola’s incident is far less serious but what line of action Jones takes with them remains to be seen. Vunipola featured in his first Six Nations since 2017 after a horror run of injuries, dealing with three arm fractures in 12 months. He started all five matches and was an integral part of England’s return to form. Te’o, however, started just once against Italy as Jones settled into his new midfield combination of Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade.
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