An RFU free bar kick-started England's infamous 'dwarfgate' night out

Reports suggest that the RFU funded the English rugby team’s drinking before their ill-advised night out in Queenstown’s Altitude Bar.

THE ENGLISH RUGBY team’s infamous “dwarfgate” night out was partly paid for by an RFU bar tab, the Daily Mail reports.

The revelation comes just days after the union cracked down on centre Mike Tindall, fining him £25,000 and dropping him from the England squad for what they deemed to be “unacceptable” misconduct at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Tindall caused a storm when his late-night antics in Queenstown’s “Altitude” bar were caught on CCTV, showing him on the arm of a mystery blonde while his team-mates partied with “dwarves.”

But it now appears that the players’ night out was not only sanctioned but encouraged by the RFU who put on a free bar for the team in a different pub earlier that evening.

An e-mail sent by team operations manager Tom Stokes and seen by the Daily Mail informed the players that a private area had been reserved at the “Pub on the Wharf” for after-dinner drinks, promising that the union would pick up the bill.