LONDON — Saracens have sacked Senior Men's Academy player Totoa Auvaa with immediate effect after an alleged street punch in St Albans in the early hours of Sunday, 11 October. Hertfordshire Police said they are investigating an altercation which occurred between 2.15am and 2.20am on Sunday (October 11) in St Peter's Street, St Albans, where it is alleged a man in his 20s was approached by another man who then punched him in the face, with enquiries ongoing at this time.
The incident marks the second off-field incident involving the 21-year-old within four months, following a melee with England cricket captain Ben Stokes and bowler Gus Atkinson at the Rex Rooms in Chelsea in June. Auvaa, who has spent time on loan at Ampthill RFC, has also faced repeated disciplinary action on the pitch. In November 2025 at home to Hartpury, he struck an opponent in the face with his right hand, earning a red card, a three-match ban and a £125 fine. Ahead of that hearing he said: "I am not a player that likes to fight and I would like to say sorry for the actions of myself in the game." His coach indicated at the time that "there are some external matters which may have had an impact on the player and the way in which he reacted to this incident," relating to his father in Samoa having been taken ill. Just four months later he was suspended for five weeks after stamping down on an opponent's head against Hartpury after retaliating to having been illegally held. He did not attend that hearing as he knew "very little English" and would have found it "difficult to manage", but said in a statement: "I have worked extremely hard on my discipline this season as its something that is important to the game and I know it's a big area for me to continue to work on."
Saracens confirmed Auvaa's departure in a statement which read: "Saracens can confirm that 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 that 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."
The club have also stood down a second member of the Men's Senior Academy while they investigate his potential involvement. "Saracens is aware of an incident involving a member of the Men's Senior Academy in St Albans on the evening of Saturday 10 October," a second statement read. "The player involved has been stood down from all club duties with immediate effect while the club carries out a thorough internal investigation to establish the facts. Saracens expects the highest standards of conduct from everyone representing the club. We will make no further comment until the investigation has concluded."
The episode continues a worrying trend of indiscipline around Saracens. New director of rugby Brendan Venter recently changed his job title to 'head of rugby culture and wine consultant', before altering it to 'head of culture and technical director' in an effort to avoid media responsibilities. In 2024, Billy Vunipola was fined £205 and charged with "resisting the law" after being tasered by police in the early hours of the morning in a Palma nightclub in Majorca.