Mike Tindall's Test career appears to be over after his off-field behaviour during the World Cup resulted in him being kicked out of England's elite squad and fined £25,000 by the Rugby Football Union.
The Rugby Players' Association announced last night that 33-year-old Tindall would appeal the fine, describing it as "extraordinary".
Tindall, 33, has been punished for events at a bar in Queenstown, New Zealand during England's failed World Cup sojourn, when they made a quarter-final exit and were affected by a series of off-field issues.
As well as his exclusion from the elite squad and the fine, the Gloucester centre also gained a stinging rebuke from senior RFU figure and former England fly-half Rob Andrew, who conducted the Twickenham investigation along with RFU legal and governance director Karena Vleck.
A statement from the RPA confirmed Tindall would appeal against the fine.
It read: "The Rugby Players' Association has noted the extraordinary fine handed down to Mike Tindall following the disciplinary process after the Rugby World Cup.
"Mike will be appealing this unprecedented fine as per the terms of the EPS (elite player squad) agreement. There will be no further comment from Mike Tindall or the RPA at this time."
Tindall has captained his country, won 75 caps and featured in England's 2003 World Cup final-winning team during an 11-year stint on the Test match stage.
He was captured on CCTV footage from the Altitude Bar in conversation with a woman during the World Cup. He later issued an apology for misleading the England management over his movements that night, having initially claimed he did not go on to another bar.
"Mike Tindall's actions reached a level of misconduct that was unacceptable in a senior England player and amounted to a very serious breach of the EPS (elite player squad) code of conduct," Andrew said.
"While we acknowledge his previous good character, it needs to be made clear that what he did will not be tolerated."
Many people felt England manager Martin Johnson should have made an example of Tindall, who married the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips this year, and sent him home early.
Later during the trip, Johnson reprimanded Tindall's England colleagues James Haskell, Dylan Hartley and Chris Ashton following a female hotel worker's complaint she had been subjected to lewd comments at the team hotel in Dunedin.
Haskell and Ashton have now received £5,000 suspended fines from the RFU and warned about their future conduct, although Hartley was cleared.
Andrew added: "If they commit any further breaches of the code before December 31, 2012 the fines will become due.
"We have considered all the evidence carefully and interviewed the players at length.
"These actions have not been taken lightly, but we believe that in all these cases the sanctions are commensurate with the level of seriousness of what occurred.
"It should stand as a strong reminder that the highest standards of conduct are expected from any England player on and off the field."
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