In the Sunday Telegraph, Paul Ackford hits out at his former England team-mate Rob Andrew's vindictive and hypocritical treatment of Mike Tindall following the centre's fine and expulsion from the England squad.
"Mike Tindall should never play for England again because, at 33, his best days are behind him, and he still can’t pass a rugby ball properly.
"His two convictions for drink-driving, coupled with his behaviour in Queenstown when he claimed not to remember going to a second bar, would suggest that his relationship with alcohol is a troubled one. But to slap a £25,000 fine on him for going off the rails on a sanctioned night out during England’s World Cup campaign is unnecessarily vindictive.
"Rob Andrew was the man behind the punishment, the same Rob Andrew who, three years ago, sat in a Christchurch hotel, and refused to take any responsibility for a tour to New Zealand which he was managing while Martin Johnson stayed at home to attend his pregnant wife, and where the behaviour of England’s players resulted in a police inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct.
"I remember the occasion well. As Mike Ford and John Wells, the two coaches either side of Andrew, shifted in their seats in embarrassment, Andrew was asked twice if he was in any way accountable for the actions of his players, on or off the pitch. Nothing. No apology. No explanation. Nothing.
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