Johnson Charged With Drawing Up New Code of Conduct for England

Martin Johnson's second job as England team manager, after picking his first elite squad, will be to draw up a new code of behavior for players to avoid a repeat of the after-match events in Auckland earlier this month which yesterday prompted the Rugby Football Union to charge four unnamed players with misconduct.

The RFU told Johnson, who officially starts work next Tuesday, to revisit and revise the England squad's teamship rules while the team manager, along with the RFU's chief executive, Francis Baron, and the director of elite rugby, Rob Andrew, the tour manager in New Zealand and who presented a report on the trip yesterday, will redraft the elite players' code of conduct "to take account lessons learnt from the New Zealand tour incidents".

Players will in future not be allowed to bring anyone back to their hotel rooms, except for their wives and bona fide partners.

The Union's chief disciplinary officer, Jeff Blackett was not given a time frame for his inquiry, which the RFU said would not prejudice the police investigation, but he said he hoped to conclude it before Johnson's squad announcement next Tuesday. "This will run separately from the police investigations taking place in New Zealand and will not prejudice those inquiries," said the RFU's management board in a statement.

It was reported the four unnamed players were in a bedroom in their Auckland hotel with a woman in the early hours after the first Test against New Zealand after a drinking session in a nightclub, but they have strenuously denied claims made in a complaint to police in the city, which has yet to be formalized, of serious sexual assault.

Blackett will investigate whether the four had broken the code of conduct all England players are required to sign. The board also decided that the provisions governing the behavior of players while on England duty needed to be tightened up and when Johnson reveals his 32-strong elite squad next week, every player will be required to sign a 50-page contract.

"We are concerned at the damage to the game's reputation as a result of the allegations made regarding the behavior of four of the 32-strong touring party after the first Test in Auckland. The board noted that no formal complaint had yet been made to the Auckland police, that the players deny the allegations and that they have the full support of the England squad and team management in this respect. Wearing the white shirt is a great honor that brings with it great rewards but also carries great responsibilities. In the age of celebrity, England players must always be aware of their position and the dangers that may exist for them at all times."

The board accepted that the 32 players named in Johnson's first squad next week would need time, and legal advice, before signing the thick contract they will be presented with.

The RFU hopes that the London Irish director of rugby, Brian Smith, will by next Tuesday have been named as the England attack coach. Smith has this week been taking pre-season training at Irish, but he is trying to work out a compensation package with the club for the remaining year he has on his contract. "I have made my feelings known to the board and the club's new chairman," said Smith, who played international rugby for Australia and Ireland. "You will only have the chance to work with a national team in a World Cup once or twice in your career. Things are being sorted out, but it has to be right for London Irish, a club very close to my heart. It must be win-win for everyone."