Jamie George condemns Saracens teammate after London nightclub incident

Jamie George called Saracens academy forward Totoa Auvaa a “good kid” who had “got it wrong” after a June 8 confrontation with England bowler Gus Atkinson at the Rex Rooms nightclub in central London. George said Saracens would “look after” him after the incident.

The clash took place in the early hours of June 8 at the Rex Rooms nightclub in Chelsea, after Saracens players had attended an end-of-season social in Fulham and England had celebrated their first Test win over New Zealand at Lord’s. A dispute over a table in the VIP area escalated into violence, with Auvaa swinging at Atkinson, missing, and hitting ECB security guard James Shaw instead. Shaw required stitches. A second incident followed in which Auvaa made physical contact with Atkinson, who was shaken. Ben Stokes did not see either incident.

George said Auvaa was “a young kid who has only left Samoa once” and “doesn’t know right from wrong at the minute.” He described the behaviour as “unacceptable” and “immature,” but also stressed that Saracens would support the player and put the right people around him.

Auvaa is listed at 6ft 5in and 19st 8lb, or about 125kg, joined Saracens at the start of the 2025-26 campaign and had yet to play senior rugby for the club. Before that, he made 17 appearances for Ampthill in the second tier and captained Samoa Under-20s and Samoa A.

Saracens called the events “regrettable for all parties involved” and said it remained supportive of Auvaa while establishing the full facts and staying in contact with the relevant authorities and individuals involved. The ECB said Atkinson was the “victim of unprovoked attacks” and that no blame should be attached to the players for violent conduct at the nightclub. The Cricket Regulator later took no action against Stokes and Atkinson, finding insufficient evidence to proceed.