Jamie George said Totoa Auvaa’s behaviour in the nightclub incident involving Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes was unacceptable. He also said Saracens must protect the 21-year-old because he does not know right from wrong.
George on Auvaa
George described Auvaa as “a rabbit in the headlights in London” and added: “He's a young kid who has only left Samoa once,” while arguing that the player had got it wrong. He said: “There's also a bit of me that thinks we've got to look after him because he doesn't know right from wrong at the minute.”
His view put the club’s response in sharp focus. Saracens said the incident on 8 June was “regrettable for all parties involved” and said Auvaa would not face any formal sanctions after its investigation.
ECB ruling on Stokes
The cricket side of the case moved differently. Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson breached their team’s midnight curfew earlier this month when they were out celebrating victory in the first Test, and the ECB made them unavailable for England’s second Test defeat while it looked into events.
An ECB disciplinary hearing later found both players had breached “contractual obligations” but were blameless for “violent conduct”, and each received a written warning with no further action. The ECB also said no blame should be attached to them for violent conduct at the nightclub.
Cricket Regulator review
A separate inquiry by the Cricket Regulator found there was no case to answer because of insufficient evidence. The ECB said Stokes was not involved in the altercation and did not witness either incident, while its evidence showed Atkinson was the victim of unprovoked attacks and did not retaliate on either occasion.
That leaves the nightclub incident with one player publicly criticised, two England cricketers warned, and no formal sanction for Auvaa. Saracens said it remained supportive of him, but George’s comments showed the club is still trying to manage the fallout around a 21-year-old who was drawn into a case that crossed from rugby into cricket.
