'There was no dwarf-throwing'

Mike Tindall
Mike Tindall
The English rugby team - and a dwarf - have sprung to the defence of England captain Mike Tindall over tabloid reports he flirted with a mystery blonde during a bizarre night out in Queenstown.

Tindall, who married the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips six weeks ago, was reported to have had his head buried in the blonde's chest while watching dwarf-throwing with team-mates in a bar.

England rugby management did little to quash that allegation, issuing a statement which denied nothing but said the players were just enjoying themselves.

"Mike and several of the players were enjoying an evening out after he had led the team to a hard-earned victory over Argentina. Like all the lads, he plays for England with a massive amount of passion and he was relaxing after a tough match. There will be no further comment."

One of the dwarfs who was in the bar said everyone had a good time, and he was not thrown.

Photographs from the Altitude Bar's Facebook page show English players posing with women and the dwarfs.

In one photo, Tindall is seen on top of team-mates Dylan Hartley and Chris Ashton. In another, the two dwarfs are tackling Ashton.

According to Britain's Sun tabloid, Tindall was targeted by a woman. A source told the newspaper: "One particularly beautiful blonde went straight for Mike. But rather than reject her advances, unfortunately he was extremely responsive ... They were flirting with each other and getting very touchy-feely."

Altitude Bar general manager Blair Impey said he was there on Sunday: "I saw nothing of it, and I heard nothing ... I think every big international rugby player would attract girls, so girls were definitely there.

"But as far as behaviour that's been speculated about, I couldn't tell you because, honestly, we didn't see any of that behaviour."

The players were in good spirits and well behaved, he said.

The dwarfs, from Little Man Entertainment in Sydney, were hired to act as hosts during the bar's four-night "Mad Midget Weekender" for the World Cup, which included a horizontal bungy on Thursday, jelly-wrestling on Friday, and "midget curling" on Saturday.

On Sunday, when the England players were in the bar, it held "Leprechaun bar wars" which it advertised as team games for "sick prizes and funny as midget races".

Dwarfs Naz Kheir and Alex Roth were part of the entertainment and had a great time interacting with the English players who had a wrestle with them, Mr Impey said.

Mr Kheir, who owns the Little Man Entertainment company which advertises itself as "superstars that love to party", said the England players were just having a good time.

"Don't be silly. There was no dwarf-throwing. Altitude Bar was good to us and we had a great time," he said on Facebook.

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