A group of Saracens players, including England star Billy Vunipola, have reportedly been forced to apologise after being seen to flout the lockdown restrictions.
Under the current guidelines, no-one is allowed outside unless it is for exercise or essential trips for food, work or medical reasons. There are no social gatherings permitted, either, and the public have been asked to keep two metres apart when crossing paths outside their residences.
However, according to photographs and witness accounts obtained the Daily Mail, a group of Saracens players were seen breaking the restrictions when they convened for a coffee meeting on Monday.
The gathering of high-profile stars included England internationals Vunipola, Alex Goode and Nick Isiekwe, as well as Scotland international and British and Irish Lion Sean Maitland and Saracens prop Josh Ibuanokpe.
The Mail say the five Sarries players were pictured outside a cafe in St Albans, where, it is said, they stood within close proximity of one another, "laughing and joking", for approximately 20 minutes.
In a statement to the Mail, the Gallagher Premiership club expressed their disappointment and said they would be reminding the players of their responsibilities as role models.
"The club was very disappointed to learn about a small group of Saracens players being sighted together in St Albans this week," the Saracens statement read.
"The Government guidelines on social distancing and public gatherings of more than two people are very clear and the club has been vigorous in its messaging to all players and staff members about the importance of adhering to these guidelines whilst in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Management has spoken to the players involved, all of whom accept that they made an error in judgement and have apologised for any upset they may have caused.
"The club has reminded these players as well as the whole Saracens squad of their responsibilities to themselves and the community around them and we are confident that this will not happen again."
It is the second time in a matter of months in which Vunipola, who has 45 England caps to his name, has landed himself in hot water.
Just last year, he was reprimanded by Saracens and the RFU over his social media activity after defending Israel Folau's controversial social media posts.
He was subsequently booed the following week when he came off the bench against Bristol by the swathes of fans who had taken umbrage with the No.8 liking Folau's posts.
Vunipola, too, had recently used his Instagram platform to voice his support for the NHS.
His most recent post on the social networking site, which shows his support for a children's charity, is a video in which he begins the message: "Hello, I'm Billy, coronavirus is a massive challenge for everyone."
His post before that is a graphic which reads: "Supporting the NHS. Spread the survey…not the virus."
England full-back Goode, too, has used his social media platform to back the NHS, voicing kudos to Essex cricket for releasing their song to raise funds. Ibuanopke also showed his support for the cricketers' initiative.
In their statement to the Mail, Saracens also voiced their respect for NHS "heroes".
"Saracens would like to reiterate our tremendous admiration and respect for the work being undertaken by NHS and other frontline staff who are tackling this virus," the club said.
"Our recent partnership with charity Compassion London …where we were supporting efforts to provide hot meals for up to 10,000 NHS staff and vulnerable people in north London every day from the kitchens of our stadium, is an example of our commitment and support for these heroes."
