Saracens starlet Totoa Auvaa has been sacked with immediate effect for a separate disciplinary breach just four months after being embroiled in a melee with former England cricket captain Ben Stokes.
In June, Auvaa, 21, escaped punishment over his role in a nightclub incident with Stokes and England bowler Gus Atkinson at the Rex Rooms in Chelsea.
The Samoan back-row aimed a punch at Atkinson that missed but struck a member of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) security team who was accompanying Stokes and Co.
Auvaa was cleared of any wrongdoing by Saracens, but an ECB disciplinary hearing found Stokes and Atkinson to have breached behavioural standards.
Both were dropped for England’s next game against New Zealand with the fallout then followed by a summer of upheaval in English cricket that ended with Stokes retiring.
Auvaa, a powerful forward, has now seen his employment with Saracens ended after a second incident which took place in St Albans in the early hours of last Sunday morning after Saracens’ league victory over Bristol Bears.
Daily Mail Sport can report it involved him punching another man in the face.
Totoa Auvaa signed for Saracens as a 20-year-old in August last year
A Saracens statement read: ‘Saracens can confirm Totoa Auvaa, a member of the senior men’s academy, has left the club with immediate effect.
‘Following an incident this weekend, the club has determined 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.’
A statement from Hertfordshire Police read: ‘Police are investigating an altercation which occurred between 2.15am and 2.20am on Sunday (October 11) in St Peter’s Street, St Albans. It is alleged a man in his 20’s was approached by another man who then punched him to the face. Enquiries are ongoing at this time.’
It is understood the investigation launched by Saracens was prompted after a victim of the St Albans incident emailed the club to make them aware of what had happened.
Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes were caught up in an incident sparked by Auvaa in June
Saracens have acted decisively on the basis that Auvaa – who had been placed on an alcohol ban after the incident with Stokes and Atkinson – was on a final warning.
After the incident in Chelsea, Saracens’ experienced England hooker Jamie George said the club would look after Auvaa and ‘make sure he’s got role models around him’.
George said: ‘He’s a young kid who has only left Samoa once. He is immature. He is a rabbit in the headlights in London. He’s a good kid, but he’s got it wrong. There’s no disputing that. But we need to make sure we establish that sort of behaviour is unacceptable.
‘There’s also a bit of me that thinks we’ve got to look after him because he doesn’t know right from wrong at the minute. We’ll look after him. We will make sure that he’s got role models around him.’
A former Samoa Under-20 captain, Auvaa joined Saracens in August 2025 and impressed for their feeder club Ampthill last season. At 6ft 5in and just under 20 stone, Auvaa is a physical operator and he has represented the club at senior level in the PREM Rugby Cup, but not in PREM Rugby.
Former Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall was delighted to sign Auvaa when the club confirmed his deal and there can be no doubt he remains a player of significant promise.
‘We are excited to welcome Totoa to our club. He has settled into the environment well and clearly has enormous potential,’ said McCall, who has now been succeeded as the man in charge of Saracens by Brendan Venter, last year.
‘We are all looking forward to working with him as he begins his journey at the club.’
Auvaa will now be on the lookout for new employment, but the fact he has made all his headlines off the field so far are likely to make that difficult despite his undoubted talent.
For Saracens, his sacking represents further negative headlines in what has been a turbulent start to the new season.
The club has also been criticised for Venter’s change in job title from director of rugby to first ‘head of rugby culture and wine consultant’ and then ‘head of culture and technical director’ and his reluctance to do media interviews.
