Silence is deafening at Quins as players face monastic life

Blackett's findings fail to show how prohibitions can be enforced

The crime was not so much in going on a pub crawl and meeting members of the opposite sex as getting caught; the punishment was light to negligible. His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett has attempted to draw a line under the case of the "Auckland Four" in the absence of any evidence of serious wrongdoing.

On the field, England suffered an embarrassing two-Test whitewash by the All Blacks; off it they were subjected to further humiliation when an 18-year-old girl prompted the Auckland police to investigate claims of "serious sexual assault". The main problem was the curious reluctance of the parties involved to give the authorities hard evidence.

There was no formal complaint against the players, who declined to give evidence to police in New Zealand, and the complainant refused to take part in a video conference. Had she done so she would have been cross-examined by one of London's leading law firms, Carter-Ruck, whose clients include Tesco and the McCanns... and Harlequins.

Judge Blackett, the Rugby Football Union's disciplinary officer, chose to conduct his inquiry not in New Zealand but at home, and decided that Mike Brown, the Harlequins full-back, and Topsy Ojo, the London Irish wing – the 22-year-old players ended up with the complainant at the Hilton Hotel in Auckland where the England team were staying – were guilty of misconduct. Brown was fined £1,000, Ojo £500 and both were "reprimanded". David Strettle and Danny Care, also of Harlequins, were exonerated.

So the Auckland Two were named and shamed for being out all night and told not to be naughty boys again, but there was no ban. And from Harlequins the silence was deafening. In the light of the allegations the RFU had to be seen to be doing something, and the upshot is that the elite player squad will have to sign a new code of conduct.

Judge Blackett recommends a "tighter rein" on players, particularly the "very young who do not have the life skills to cope with sudden stardom". He may as well have described them as innocents abroad. In future there will be a ban on "young unknown female guests" returning to the team hotel and a limit on alcohol consumption.

How the prohibitions will be enforced is not clear. Unless the players are confined to a monastery, the age-old story of rugby tours will not dramatically depart from the script.

Judge Blackett, whose background is in the Royal Navy and who has seen far worse things happen at sea, is all too aware of the dangers that, for the modern professional, have been exacerbated. "It has been said that this sort of activity has occurred on rugby tours from time immemorial and that it may be hypocritical to take disciplinary action. However, players must remind themselves that they have high public profiles and there will be those who seek stories about their personal lives."

Judge Blackett added: "It was, perhaps, unwise for the England squad to share the same hotel as members of the British press." Indeed, while ruling that it was unfair to blame the team management for allowing players to hit Auckland's hottest night spots, he reserved his most stinging rebuke for the rugby writers. The messengers got both barrels.

Referring to trial by media, he said that "irresponsible reporting has done more to damage the image of England rugby than any actual events". The media made his inquiry more difficult "because witnesses have been unwilling to speak to me without guarantees that their identities will be protected." There was more. "Allegations of excessive drinking, group sex and voyeurism were probably picked up by members of the press who were able to listen to speculation and comment." It was ever thus. Get over it, as they say.

Writers enjoy a much closer relationship with rugby players than exists in other professional sports and are more comfortable talking about rucks and mauls than rock 'n' roll and sex at the Pony Club. When Judge Blackett spoke about people staying out too late, drinking too much and inviting guests back, members of the Fourth Estate might have thought he was referring to them, but when he mentioned missing physio appointments and training they knew they were off the hook.

Yesterday, England players Paul Sackey and James Simpson-Daniel were at the O2 Scrum on the Beach at Bournemouth where, in the Blueroom, there were "free drinks and the chance to chill out with the players". The campaign, designed to keep those aged from 16 to 24 to remain in the game, includes "pathfinders to guide young players on their rugby journey".