Saracens have sacked Totoa Auvaa with immediate effect after an incident over the weekend - four months after the forward was involved in the nightclub altercation that preceded Ben Stokes' retirement from international cricket. The 21-year-old Samoan, a member of the club's Senior Men's Academy, was involved in an incident in St Albans on Saturday night. Saracens confirmed on Monday evening Auvaa had left the club following an internal investigation.
"Saracens can confirm that Totoa Auvaa, a member of the Senior Men's Academy, has left the club with immediate effect," a club statement said. "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." Auvaa escaped punishment following the nightclub incident in June which led to cricketers Stokes and Gus Atkinson being dropped by England for the second Test against New Zealand. Saracens called the events "regrettable" while describing themselves as "supportive" of the player. Separate Saracens and England cricket nights out had converged on two pubs before Stokes, Atkinson and Auvaa ended up in the VIP area of the Rex Rooms nightclub in the early hours of Monday June 8.
The two players had broken a midnight curfew while celebrating a first Test win over New Zealand at Lord's and both were dropped for the second Test. An England and Wales Cricket Board investigation cleared Stokes and Atkinson of violent conduct, finding they had been blameless victims of "unprovoked attacks". Stokes and Atkinson were given formal written warnings for breaching their central contracts before returning for the third Test at Trent Bridge, where Stokes resigned the captaincy and announced his retirement from international cricket.
Atkinson has remained in the England set-up and has since been awarded another central contract.
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