€29,000 punishment for Tindall

MIKE TINDALL’S Test career appears to be over after his off-field behaviour during the World Cup resulted in him being kicked out of England’s elite squad and fined £25,000 (€29,000) by the England RFU.

The Rugby Players’ Association announced last night that 33-year-old Tindall would appeal the fine, describing it as “extraordinary”.

Tindall, 33, has been punished for events at a bar in Queenstown, New Zealand during England’s failed World Cup sojourn, when they made a quarter-final exit and were affected by a series of off-field issues.

As well as his exclusion from the elite squad and the fine, the Gloucester centre also gained a stinging rebuke from senior RFU figure and former England fly-half Rob Andrew, who conducted the Twickenham investigation along with RFU legal and governance director Karena Vleck.

Tindall has captained his country, won 75 caps and featured in England’s 2003 World Cup final-winning team during an 11-year stint on the Test match stage.

He was captured on CCTV footage from the Altitude Bar in conversation with a woman during the World Cup. He later issued an apology for misleading the England management over his movements that night, having initially claimed he did not go on to another bar.

“Mike Tindall’s actions reached a level of misconduct that was unacceptable in a senior England player and amounted to a very serious breach of the EPS (elite player squad) code of conduct,” Andrew said.

“While we acknowledge his previous good character, it needs to be made clear that what he did will not be tolerated.”

The decision, though, has not gained widespread approval.

Former England star Austin Healey tweeted: “25k fine is wrong. Tindall has been made a scapegoat.. he set bad example but ...Andrew trying to justify his position.”

Tindall’s England team-mate Jonny Wilkinson described the Gloucester star as a “great, great guy and player”.

Wilkinson told talkSPORT: “There were moments on that tour we all look back on and on the tournament and we would probably say we could have done things differently, and I am involved in that as well.”

Asked whether Tindall was an obvious target for criticism, Wilkinson added: “It’s tough, but I think there’s always going to be people out there to get you and make things worse for you.

“Mike Tindall’s a great, great guy and player.

“On that tour you needed someone to be able to have that strength on one side and attack the rugby the way he did, but it’s a tricky situation.

“If we could turn back time and do things a bit differently, we would have a go.”

Many people felt England manager Martin Johnson should have made an example of Tindall, who married the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Phillips earlier this year, and sent him home early from New Zealand.

Later during the trip, Johnson reprimanded Tindall’s England colleagues James Haskell, Dylan Hartley and Chris Ashton following a female hotel worker’s complaint she had been subjected to lewd comments at the team hotel in Dunedin.

Haskell and Ashton have now received £5,000 suspended fines from the RFU and warned about their future conduct, although Hartley was cleared.