Jarryd Hayne: NRL star agrees woman twice knocked back invitations to meet at party

NRL star Jarryd Hayne has agreed in court a woman rejected his invitations to meet him twice before an alleged sexual assault.

Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne agreed the woman who accused him of sexual assault knocked back two invitations to join him at a party before he caught a cab to her house, his trial has heard.

The ex-Parramatta fullback, 32, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm.

He is accused of forcing himself on the woman, then 26, at a home in Newcastle on September 30, 2018, using his hands and mouth, causing gruesome injuries in the process.

The ex-State of Origin fullback denies the woman’s claims she told him to stop. Picture NCA NewsWire/Peter Lorimer

The prosecution has alleged she suffered two lacerations to her genitalia when the rugby league star allegedly pulled off her jeans and began the unwanted sex on her at a home in Fletcher while a taxi driver he’d paid $550 to drive him to Sydney waited outside.

Mr Hayne claims the oral and digital sex was consensual, and the woman’s injuries were caused by a stray fingernail.

On the fifth day of his trial at Newcastle District Court, Mr Hayne told the court the woman “never said no” during the encounter, and that there was no chance he might have misread “mixed signals”.

He knew “she didn’t want to have sex” but wanted to “please her and that was it”, he said on Monday.

The court has heard their meeting on grand final night 2018 came after days of flirty messages exchanged over social media that were “forward” and included pictures of the woman wearing lingerie.

The 32-year-old claims to have first made contact with the woman in 2014. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Peter Lorimer

Under cross-examination from crown prosecutor Brian Costello, the former NSW player said the messages were “promising signs” but agreed that whether the woman would consent to sex was still “up in the air”.

Mr Hayne was in Newcastle on the weekend of the incident to attend a two-day buck’s party for a former teammate, and the court heard he invited the woman to come meet him on both Saturday and Sunday.

Mr Costello asked Mr Hayne if the fact she declined both times might mean she was “more reserved” in person than on social media.

“Nah, not really,” he replied. “It was pretty late at night … it was last minute (on the Saturday), so I didn’t really expect her to drop everything and come out.

Jarryd Hayne last played in the NRL in 2018, the year he was charged. Picture: AAP Image/Brendan Esposito

“I think it was where I was, I was at a buck’s party so …”

Mr Hayne said he would later suggest to “pop in” at the woman’s house and caught a cab there about 9pm on Sunday but was “a bit rattled” to be greeted at the door by her mother.

Because of that, he “wasn’t even thinking about” whether being directed into the woman’s bedroom indicated she wanted to have sex with him.

“I was still trying to understand why her mum answered the door,” he said.

Mr Costello also pressed the former fullback on a “good luck” Instagram message he claims to have sent the woman in 2014 – four years before the alleged assault – when she was in a modelling contest.

The defence has not provided a copy of the message to the court, and the woman testified in her evidence she had never seen it.

“I remember because when I got charged I went through my phone and just happened to come across it,” Mr Hayne said, adding he sent it while in State of Origin camp.

He claims the message had since been automatically deleted by Instagram.

The trial continues.