DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
ComeAllWithin (Harlequins Rugby)
HTML https://comeallwithin.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: ComeAllWithin Board
*****************************************************
#Post#: 152783--------------------------------------------------
Yarde
DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
Date: April 14, 2026, 6:34 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Former England winger discusses false rape charge as he
‘rebuilds life’ after being ‘blocked’ by PREM clubs
In January 2022, Marland Yarde was wrongly accused of rape by
sex worker Sandra Ntonya. Since then, he’s been working hard to
put his life back together.
The now 33-year-old recently appeared on The Good, The Bad &
The Rugby podcast to discuss his life post-rugby.
Yarde reflected on the woman who made the false accusations,
saying he no longer holds “strong dislike” in his heart.
“I can only blame myself, and I had to look at myself within
myself first. You have to take responsibility for putting
yourself in that scenario. I should never have been around this
person,” he said.
“As a professional athlete, you have a responsibility; you have
a lot of kids who look up to you. You have a responsibility to
your teammates, to your family and everyone else that’s
associated with you. So, being with people like that, or being
around someone who can potentially harm that or harm your
character, you need to protect that.”
At the time, the former rugby player wasn’t aware of quite how
vulnerable a position he was in, admitting now that Ntonya had
“stalked” him for many months, and was not “aware” of the
numerous photos found on her phone of Yarde in different places.
Recalling the events that led to the accusations, Yarde said: “I
was going through a pretty difficult period of time mentally, in
terms of life and family at home, and I was living out of home
for a couple of months. I think it was a case of just hanging
around the wrong people and being in the wrong place.
“I speak about my mum. She always says to me that you might meet
1000 people, there’s always gonna be one person that potentially
things aren’t gonna go well, and derails everything.”
The fallout
At the time of the accusations, the defendant, Yarde, could not
be legally named in the press, leading to plenty of public
speculation. Unable to defend himself, Yarde was desperate
simply to return to rugby.
“I obviously knew that I had never done anything wrong. But as
an athlete, you can’t really say anything. So I was cast in the
dark, and it lasted a lot longer than I thought it would.”
Yarde was cleared of any charges, and Ntonya admitted to making
up the rape accusations. She also spent time in prison after
breaking the conditions of her restraining order filed against
her.
After leaving Sale Sharks, Yarde struggled to return to club
rugby in England, with his pathway being blocked at every
opportunity.
“I’ve got coaches throughout the Premiership who are like,
‘yeah, we will take him’. But then maybe the CEO or someone’s
just blocked it. So I’m like, at what stage is my life supposed
to just be over now? Because I know I haven’t done anything
wrong. So I’m now almost in prison in my life.”
Despite the challenges that he’s faced, Yarde is insistent on
looking at the bright side of life, claiming that the experience
has allowed him to “grow”.
#Post#: 152785--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yarde
DIR By: Rob Buchanan
Date: April 14, 2026, 7:09 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I watched the whole GBR podcast on youtube, I found it very
intriguing and he came across very well. He only touched on his
time with quins but does mention something that some people on
here have made refererance to about quins.
Obviously some things resonated with Hask.
#Post#: 152787--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yarde
DIR By: never sleep
Date: April 14, 2026, 7:20 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Rob Buchanan link ---
>
> I watched the whole GBR podcast on youtube, I found it very
intriguing and he came across very well. He only touched on his
time with quins but does mention something that some people on
here have made refererance to about quins.
>
> Obviously some things resonated with Hask.
>
--- End Quote ---
Are you going to elaborate?
Or - Is it that at the time we scoured the world for a
world-class winger and then recruited Yarde from the Not-Nots
instead?
#Post#: 152792--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yarde
DIR By: Rob Buchanan
Date: April 14, 2026, 12:01 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: never sleep link ---
>
> Are you going to elaborate?
> Or - Is it that at the time we scoured the world for a
world-class winger and then recruited Yarde from the Not-Nots
instead?
>
--- End Quote ---
Not on this thread.
Yarde does tell the story of how he arrived at Quins, and I do
remember thinking when he joined that we had recruited a top
class rugby player.
#Post#: 152796--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yarde
DIR By: Mayor West
Date: April 14, 2026, 1:40 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I’d heard from a very good source that while he was at Quins he
didn’t turn up for the community events or other squad events
that he didn’t want to do. Nothing terrible but not really
joining in and contributing to the squad. Quins had enough and
sacked him.
#Post#: 152797--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yarde
DIR By: Yareet
Date: April 14, 2026, 3:12 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Mayor West link ---
>
> I’d heard from a very good source that while he was at Quins
he didn’t turn up for the community events or other squad events
that he didn’t want to do. Nothing terrible but not really
joining in and contributing to the squad. Quins had enough and
sacked him.
>
--- End Quote ---
Exactly what I heard from Quins at the time he came to us. FWIW
the smoke signals at Sale were much better
#Post#: 152810--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yarde
DIR By: The Absolute Quintet
Date: April 15, 2026, 4:50 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I heard he was perennially late for work. He once overtook me on
the A316, at some speed, just when I was thinking I might be
late for kick off.
#Post#: 152818--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yarde
DIR By: Nico Wilson
Date: April 15, 2026, 5:50 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Mayor West link ---
>
> I’d heard from a very good source that while he was at Quins
he didn’t turn up for the community events or other squad events
that he didn’t want to do. Nothing terrible but not really
joining in and contributing to the squad. Quins had enough and
sacked him.
>
--- End Quote ---
I'm fairly sure Robbo gave an interview where, rarely, he
commented on off field issues and said that the club were better
with Yarde.
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 1