French players questioned, but 'no crime'

The reason was that police could 'interview' squad members as potential witnesses to an alleged sexual assault, police said.

The plane carrying the France squad was halted by police on the tarmac and several players were taken off.

The flight was delayed by two hours, before leaving.

"Following an initial report of sexual assault in Edinburgh city centre during the early hours of Monday, February 12, police conducted various lines of inquiry, including speaking to a number of potential witnesses," said a Police Scotland statement.

"These inquiries have established that no crime has been committed," the statement added.

The French Rugby Federation also said reports that a number of their players have been involved in a brawl were not true.

The FFR confirmed that a number of players were questioned by police in Edinburgh.

However, in a further tweet, they referred to a tweet reporting the players having been involved in a brawl as 'false information’.

The reports suggest that the questioning of the players had been authorized by the coach Jacques Brunel, and that the group of players exited the plane just minutes before take-off.

President of the FFR, Bernard Laporte, assured the other players on the intercom that the situation was "not bad" and that "we do not know at all what happened, they are heard as a witness on something," before adding: "We will not spend the day there."

* Earlier, FFR President Bernard Laporte told Europe 1, a French radio station: "We don't know at all what has happened.

"Apparently they are being interviewed as witnesses. There's nothing to it and we are going to take off. We are not going to spend all day here."

An earlier FFR statement on Twitter said: "The FFR confirms that some players are being interviewed by the Scottish authorities. We are waiting for more information."

Initial reports in the British and French media suggested the French players may have been involved in a brawl outside the bar of the Tigerlily hotel.

But it is understood police received no reports of an altercation and Innes Bolt, managing director of Montpeliers (Edinburgh), who run Tigerlily and Lulu nightclub in Edinburgh's George Street, insisted players from both the France and Scotland teams were "well behaved" when they visited the venues after the match.

"I can confirm that last [Sunday] night the French and Scottish rugby teams enjoyed a night out in both Tigerlily and Lulu; venues that they have visited on a number of occasions after the Six Nations match at Murrayfield," Bolt said.

"The players and staff were all in good spirits and well behaved.

"I can confirm that there were no reported incidents to our security team and management in either venue during the night, and police have not asked to interview any Montpeliers staff."

AFP & RugbyPass