French rugby players charged with raping woman in Argentina

Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou deny raping the woman

Two French international rugby players have been charged with the aggravated rape of a woman following a match in Argentina, prosecutors in the South American country say.

Hugo Auradou, 20, and Oscar Jegou, 21, are accused of raping a 39-year-old woman after France beat Argentina on Saturday.

She alleges that they raped her multiple times and beat her in a hotel room in the city of Mendoza.

The pair, who chose "not to testify" at a hearing in the city, say they had consensual sex with the woman and deny rape. They will remain in custody while authorities investigate further.

Warning: this story contains details that some readers may find upsetting

The woman alleged the attack took place at the Diplomatic Hotel, where France's players and staff were staying as part of a tour of South America.

Her lawyer says she left a nightclub with one of the men and accompanied him to the hotel room, where she alleges that she was raped "at least six times" by one of the men and once by the other.

Ms Romano told AFP that her client suffered "fierce" violence, with injuries to her face, back, breasts, legs and ribs as well as various bite and scratch marks.

The woman was held against her will for several hours and tried to escape several times, Ms Romano said.

Her client went to hospital on Thursday after feeling ill emotionally and physically because of the incident and is receiving treatment at a health facility, she added.

On Friday a lawyer for the players said his clients were confident in their version of events.

"They are well and sure of their version, they are calm because they know they are innocent, but of course they are worried about this whole situation that they have had to live through," German Hnatow told reporters.

On Wednesday another lawyer said the "sexual relations" had been consensual.

"There are witnesses who saw her leave [the hotel]. There are cameras that saw her leave. Apparently no injuries are seen in the footage," Mariano Cuneo Libarona told journalists.

French Rugby Federation (FFR) president Florian Gill, who is in Argentina, also told AFP that the players had "quite a different version of events".

"We are not judges. We are not investigators. But we think that the Argentine justice system should look at the case very quickly," he said.

Mr Auradou and Mr Jegou have been replaced by lock Mickael Guillard and flanker Judicael Cancoriet for Saturday's second match against Argentina in Buenos Aires.