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The New Zealand Under-20 rugby team. - Source: ONE News -
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The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) says the Baby Blacks player at the centre of a rape scandal in South Africa is 'very upset' about allegations levelled against him.
A 22-year-old Cape Town woman says she was raped at a hotel by a member of the under-20 rugby side after the team's loss at the World Cup final.
Police spokesman Colonel Vish Naidoo says the woman alleges she was raped in the early hours of Saturday morning, South African time, and police have interviewed a number of people.
"I would describe her as fragile, but also severely traumatised when she was interviewed," Naidoo said.
The NZRU said the team and management have complied with local police requirements and that police indicated they were happy for all team members to travel home.
"The team has just returned from South Africa, and we will discuss the matter further with team management in due course."
However, the player could be flown back to South Africa for further police questioning, as suspicion hangs over all 28 members of the squad.
At least one of the team's players has voluntarily given a DNA sample and fingerprints to South African police following the rape allegation.
NZRU Chief Executive Steve Tew said the accusation is as "serious as it comes".
"They get an awful lot of advice, and the dangers of being in a foreign country where you put yourself at risk if you make poor decisions and obviously this young man has made a poor decision and he's now dealing with it."
Tew said he would not release the name of the player at the centre of the allegations.
"No charges have been made, no one was detained in South Africa and he hasn't had to visit a police station so to name him would be inappropriate," he said.
"The negative side is the whole team is under suspicion but my experience in those team environments is that they prefer to share that responsibility than hang him out to dry."
South African police are reviewing CCTV footage taken at the hotel where the New Zealand rugby player has been accused of rape.
The New Age reported forensic experts were at the Southern Sun Hotel Newlands on Saturday morning looking for DNA samples.
"They've medically tested the woman and according to hotel staff there, blood was found on one of the sheets in one of the hotel rooms," The New Age journalist Det Wet Potgieper told ONE News.
"After she claimed she was raped she called her parents and they rocked up at the hotel and insisted on her laying charges of rape, but according to police she can't remember what happened," Potgieper said.
A police spokesperson confirmed a complaint had been laid, but the woman could not identify the alleged offender.
It is against team protocol for the woman to have been in a
player's room at all.