Rugby league-Australia's Hayne to face third sexual assault trial

Australian rugby league international Jarryd Hayne was told on Friday he will face a third trial for sexual assault after his previous conviction was quashed by the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal last month.

Hayne served nine months in prison after being found guilty on two counts of sexual intercourse without consent at a second trial that took place in May last year. That conviction was overturned on appeal in February.

The 34-year-old, whose first trial resulted in a hung jury in December 2020, was released from prison on Feb. 15.

The incident happened on the night of the 2018 NRL Grand Final, when Hayne was in Newcastle for a bachelor party.

The former Parramatta Eels fullback won the Dally M Medal, the league's highest individual honour, in 2009 and 2014 and scored 11 tries in 11 appearances for the Kangaroos, Australia's representative rugby league team.

Hayne also had a brief career in American football, winning a contract with NFL side San Francisco 49ers in 2015, before quitting the game the following year.

(Reporting by Michael Church in Hong Kong; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)