Inside The Willow Den bar where Jarryd Hayne was before his nightmare began
THIS is the popular US dive bar where Jarryd Hayne met the woman he denies having raped in his luxury apartment that cost him more than $4000 a month.
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- Jarryd Hayne denies rape claims filed in US court
- 49ers, Eels say they didn’t know about claims
- Veteran rape claim lawyer on legal team against Hayne
- See the court documents detailing the case
TWO years ago to the day Jarryd Hayne was drinking at a San Jose dive bar often frequented by San Francisco 49ers with his teammates and the woman he denies having raped before taking her home to his luxury apartment.
News Corp Australia can reveal that Hayne was drinking with fellow 49ers players at the Willow Den bar in San Jose in the early hours of December 21, 2015, the night civil court documents allege the complainant was raped.
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Willow Den manager Jason Garewal told News Corp Australia that Hayne had only been in “a couple of times” during his stint with the 49ers but that he was always polite and was often mobbed by “football groupies”.
“Athletes come in here all the time. We never have any problems, we love having them here,” he said. “If anyone is being belligerent though we won’t serve them. Any problems with anyone and we will get them out of here straight away.”
“He has always been polite and not even rowdy or anything and people would come and flock around him,” Mr Garewal said.
He said the Willow Den sticks to the California curfew of 2am but that it is often a popular final drinking destination of locals because last drinks are called at 1:45am, later than many similar bars.
On Sunday nights, like the one Hayne and his friends were enjoying after their 24-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the bar would have been pumping.
Shuffle board and pool tables are scattered throughout and while there is a modern jukebox with all the latest records like Taylor Swift’s Reputation, you are more likely to hear old school Bon Jovi or Guns N’ Roses playing.
The ceiling is covered in one-dollar notes that patrons write on and stick up.
The woman, who has only been identified as Ms V in court documents, states that she was blackout drunk on the night in question.
She says she went back to Hayne’s apartment via an Uber, “despite having minimal interaction” with him that night.
The ride to Hayne’s former San Jose apartment is about 20 minutes from the bar, or roughly a $20 Uber fare.
The modern apartment building, which opened in 2011, is filled with tech types given its close proximity to Silicon Valley and boasts a salt-water swimming pool, a hot tub, rec area and a gym.
Hayne rented his two-bedroom, 1100 square foot (102 square metres) unit at a cost of about $US3200 ($A4148) a month.
Some residents at the apartment complex where Hayne lived during his time with the 49ers, recognised the Australian when showed a picture of him but said he “kept to himself”.
“His car would stop alongside the building and he would jump in and out,” said one resident who asked not to be named.
Another said he often saw Hayne shooting hoops at a basketball court across the road.
It is known that Hayne had a roommate while living in the luxury apartment complex but their bedrooms were separated by the living room.
The woman accusing him of rape, who says she was a virgin at the time, says she woke up the next morning and “noticed a large pool of blood on the sheets next to her as well as blood on her vagina”, according to court documents.
Hayne through his legal representatives has unequivocally and vehemently denied the allegation.
Before launching her civil claim against Hayne, the woman attempted to press charges through the San Jose Police Department who determined there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case.