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Marland Yarde tweets apology eight months after arrest by police

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Former England international Marland Yarde has issued an apology eight months after his arrest by police which ended his five-year stay at Sale, the Manchester-based Gallagher Premiership club. It was January 12 when the Sharks admitted that media stories alleging that one of its players had been arrested were true.

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At the start of an Alex Sanderson media briefing at the time, the Sharks explained they were aware of the speculation surrounding them but because it was a legal matter, they would not be taking any questions on the matter. They eventually issued a media statement following the Sanderson briefing.

It read: “Sale Sharks have been made aware of an allegation against one of its players and the subsequent arrest of that player by Greater Manchester Police on Sunday, January 9, 2022. The player in question has been suspended by Sale Sharks until further notice and is currently cooperating with police officers to assist in their investigation. As this matter is subject to a legal process there will be no further comment at this time.”

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The 30-year-old Yarde has now publicly admitted he was the unnamed Sale player caught up in the situation and he has now posted a 173-word message on Twitter apologising for the hurt and distress that he caused. He added that he now hopes to get back to playing rugby.

“In January, as I think it is known by some of the rugby community, I was arrested on suspicion of having committed a very serious offence,” began Yarde. “A necessarily lengthy police investigation followed but I can now confirm that no further action is to be taken against me. I have not been charged with any offence.

https://twitter.com/YardeM/status/1565764835270352897

“Whilst I never doubted my innocence, I understand that the investigation had to be handled with care and sensitivity for the protection of all involved. Although innocent of the crime alleged against me, I take full responsibility for having put myself in a situation where an allegation could be made against me.

“I am working hard to improve as a person using what the incident has taught and shown me. I want to apologise to all my family and friends for the hurt and distress I have caused them. Their love and support gave me the strength to see a positive future, and I look forward to resuming my career doing what I love which is playing rugby.”

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Yarde, who was capped 13 times in his early-to-mid 20s by England, made his Sale debut in November 2017 having originally started the 2017/18 season in the colours of Harlequins, whom he joined in 2014 after initially making the breakthrough into the pro ranks via London Irish.

Before the Sale statement in January admitting that one of their players had been arrested, media speculation as to the identity of the ‘unnamed ex-England player’ arrested had an unfortunate consequence for Danny Cipriani and his wife as they found themselves doorstepped by the media. It led to Victoria Cipriani taking to social media to ask that they be left alone.

“A load of journalists have turned up outside my home this morning, causing me great alarm and distress, apparently guessing (wrongly) that the story already in some parts of the press about a rugby player and his partner being arrested on suspicion of sexual offences might relate to Danny and myself,” she wrote.

“I presume they are making that wild guess because I am the same age as the woman is reported to be in the stories about that case. That is completely unwarranted and wholly unacceptable. Neither Danny nor myself have been arrested, nor do we have anything to do with the reported case, whatsoever. We do not know anything about it.

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“The press have come to the wrong people and I would ask that they please leave us alone, immediately. This is hugely upsetting for so many reasons. Please share and thanks for taking note of this.”

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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