Mike Tindall returns to England squad

Mike Tindall - the husband of Britain's Zara Phillips - has been reinstated to the England rugby squad and had his fine reduced following an appeal.

Mike Tindall has been reinstated to the England rugby squad.

The sportsman - the husband of Britain's Zara Phillips - had been fined £25,000 and thrown out of the team following his wild partying at the recent World Cup in New Zealand, but following an appeal, is allowed to return to the team and had his fine reduced to £15,000.

The decision given by acting RFU chief executive Martyn Thomas found Rugby Football Union's elite rugby director Rob Andre's initial punishment following an investigation by legal and governance director Karena Bleck, to be flawed.

Martyn said: "We accept there were mitigating factors which do not appear to have been taken into account to the extent that they might otherwise have been.

"Mike did not intentionally mislead the RFU team management when he stated he could not remember where he was on the night of 11 September and that he was relying on other people's versions of events which were relayed to him."

Mike's expression of "deep regret" during the appeal was also taken into account, as well as the apology he issued to manager Martin Johnson and the team "for the events which unfolded as a consequence" and his previous good off-field record.

However, Martyn added: "It is important to stress that we believe Mike's behaviour fell way below that to be expected of somebody of his calibre and experience. He exposed himself to a very compromising position and exposed the rest of the team to damaging publicity."

The Rugby Players Association - who supported Mike's appeal - had branded the original ruling "extraordinary" and "unprecedented."