Tindall was fined £25,000 and kicked out of England’s elite player squad by the Rugby Football Union elite rugby director Rob Andrew as a result of his drunken antics during a night out in the New Zealand resort town of Queenstown.
But an appeal heard on Monday by acting RFU chief executive Martyn Thomas – who quit his post on Tuesday – saw the fine reduced to £15,000 and restored 2003 World Cup winner Tindall to the squad.
Leaked security footage showed Tindall, recently married to Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter Zara Phillips, being kissed on the head by a woman in a Queenstown bar.
Tindall was among a group of players who, having been given the night off by the England management, went drinking in Queenstown.
“While I accept the decision made by the disciplinary appeal panel last (Monday) night I still maintain that the level of fine is not in line with other RFU disciplinary cases,” said 33-year-old Gloucester centre Tindall in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Rugby Players’ Association.
“I absolutely accept my share of responsibility for what happened in Queenstown and that I drank too much that night,” added Tindall. “It unfortunately created a level of media interest which was an unwanted distraction for myself, my team-mates, Martin Johnson and his staff. I can again only apologise unreservedly for this.”
Tindall then turned his fire on the RFU by saying: “I am deeply disappointed by the way the RFU has chosen to handle the situation and I have felt throughout the disciplinary process that my case was made unnecessarily political and public by the RFU and that I ended up being made a scapegoat.
“I feel somewhat vindicated by the decision to reinstate me back into the Elite Player Squad,” said the 75-Test midfielder. “It is the ultimate honour to play for your country and I am proud and privileged to have done this for over 11 years. I have always put my heart and soul into playing for England.”
Earlier this month Johnson, Tindall’s captain when England won the World Cup eight years ago, resigned as England manager.
Last week a series of leaked reports into England’s World Cup performance, where they failed to reach their minimum goal of a semi-final spot, painted a portrait of money-obsessed players led by a management lacking the necessary rugby skills and unable to impose meaningful discipline.
