ENGLAND MANAGER Martin Johnson has reprimanded three players for their conduct following complaints from a female hotel worker. James Haskell, Dylan Hartley and Chris Ashton were made to apologise to Annabel Newton after she was reportedly teased with lewd comments.

According to the Sunday Mirror, Newton, 23, said the men "treated me with no respect" after she was called into a hotel room to retrieve her walkie-talkie. Addressing the allegations over player conduct in the team hotel, Johnson said: "I was angry with them. It is just the sort of thing we have talked about.

“What they thought was humour and a light-hearted exchange has clearly not been taken that way by Annabel, the girl involved. At the time they apologised when they realised they had stepped over the mark. They had no idea how upset she subsequently became.

“We were in Queenstown for a few days. When we returned I spoke to the hotel manager, apologised to him for the disturbance we had caused to him and his staff. The guys formally apologised. They were shocked when they understood how upset she had become.”

The incident reportedly occurred in the days before England moved from Dunedin to Queenstown, where a number of players enjoyed a night out, which also hit the headlines. Mike Tindall has been in the spotlight for his actions that night, but his conduct was defended by Johnson.

According to the Mail on Sunday, a spokesman for Tindall said the rugby star "apologises unreservedly" after initially denying claims he had gone to a second bar with the blonde woman whom he was seen hugging and kissing on CCTV.

Johnson said any misleading information Tindall gave as to his whereabouts that night was a simple mistake and not a cover-up.

“His recollection is wrong of where he’s been, and the order he’s in there, and that is what it is.

“There’s video footage that was available at the time so I don’t think he’d be foolish enough to think he could get away with lying because of the situation he’s in and the evidence that’s available.

“So I think it’s an innocent mistake and his recollection was incorrect.”