Wynne Gray's 50 greatest rugby moments: No.47

English player Mike Tindall made headlines for his late night antics during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Photo / Greg Bowker

The ingredients were saucy fodder for England's redtop tabloids and equally serious content for the rest of the nation's news outlets.

England vice-captain Mike Tindall, who had walked down the aisle six weeks before in his marriage to the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips, was filmed flirting with a mystery blonde as the team took in a dwarf-throwing contest at a Queenstown bar.

England had come off a win against Argentina and were in a party mood several days before Phillips and a number of other players' wives were due in New Zealand.

At that stage, an earlier incident involving James Haskell, Dylan Hartley and Chris Ashton disrespecting a staff member at their Dunedin hotel, had not surfaced.

However when the two incidents were revealed they reopened the social wounds from the side's previous visit in 2008 when two players, Mike Brown and Topsy Ojo were fined after allegations of sexual impropriety.

Manager Martin Johnson had spoken publicly and often before the World Cup that he expected everyone to behave properly.

"We speak about that whenever we go away and we'll do that again when we hit the ground," said Johnson. "We have got to be careful. It is a different world to what it was 20 years ago. I remember going to New Zealand as a British Lion in 1993 and the boys had good fun but they have got to be careful not to put themselves and their team mates at risk."

Johnson's message did not hit the mark and England's social antics, mixed with average form, was a continuing distraction until they were beaten 19-12 by France in the quarterfinals.

During a later inquiry, Tindall admitted he misled officials about his big night out and was fined and dropped from England's Elite squad. On appeal, the ban was dropped and the fine reduced but Tindall never added to his 75 test caps which included a 2003 World Cup winners' medal.

"What I cannot understand is the naivety of people going out to the extent they did and it not crossing their minds it would find its way back to the media," clean-skin teammate Jonny Wilkinson said. "You need to be a little reserved, careful, aware. With a camera on pretty much every phone these days, how could it not come back?"