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A professional rugby player accused of raping a woman he met on Tinder told a jury she said to him "you are going to have to try harder than that" as they passionately kissed on her bed.

England under-20 winger Zach Kibirige said the midnight encounter he had with a woman he had been messaging for a fortnight after they matched on the dating app was consensual.

The 21-year-old Newcastle Falcons player, who got three A grades at A Level and is studying for a psychology degree, said they both grabbed each other's necks as they kissed, before they had sex in different positions.

He denies four counts of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that the alleged offences were said to have occurred over an hour when he went round to her home in November.

They were watching the film Superbad on her bed when they started to kiss, the player told the court.

(Image: NNP)

The pair had agreed to just cuddle in the run-up to their meeting, the jury has heard.

At one point there was a break in their kissing and as they smiled at each other, Kibirige claimed the woman said: "I thought this was just cuddles?"

Kibirige said they carried on kissing.

Then he said: "I think that's when it started to become a bit more passionate... hands on each other's faces, necks, hair.

"That's when she said: 'You're going to have to try harder than that'."

When asked if this was said in an unpleasant way, Kibirige replied: "It was said with a smile on her face."

Earlier in the trial Nicholas Lumley QC, defending, asked Kibirige: "Have you ever had any difficulty with any girlfriends?"

The player replied: "No."

The barrister asked him: "Do you respect women?"

Kibirige replied: "Absolutely."

Mr Lumley asked: "Was that a key part of the way you were brought up?"

Kibirige replied: "Most definitely."

He denied taking advantage of his "local celebrity".

After he had performed a sex act on the woman, Kibirige told the court he said to her: "Tell me if you don't want this."

Mr Lumley asked him why he made the remark.

Kibirige replied: "It was probably just sort of a teasy, flirty statement."

Mr Lumley said the complainant had said Kibirige was "basically throttling her" at one point, so she could not speak.

(Image: PA)

He replied: "I totally disagree with that."

Mr Lumley asked: "Throughout all that sexual activity, did she say 'No, I don't want this to happen. Stop. Get off me', or anything like that?"

Kibirige replied: "She did not."

He had to go to training the next morning and got dressed to leave after they finished.

"I was saying it was late, I needed to get home so I could get enough sleep and be ready to go to training in the morning," he told the court.

"I don't think she was best pleased.

"She said: 'Are you not going to stay and cuddle for a while and watch the end of the film?'"

On the way home he received messages from the complainant saying what had happened was "not OK".

Mr Lumley asked Kibirige: "Did you think for one moment you had done anything wrong?"

The 5ft 10in defendant replied: "Absolutely not."

That night he received a message from one of the complainant's friends accusing him of rape.

He did not reply, explaining: "I couldn't see any good coming out of it."

Chris Smith, prosecuting, pointed out a Whatsapp message sent during the hours before they met in which the complainant said she wanted "JUST cuddles".

Kibirige, who was born in Middlesbrough and raised in Yarm, Teesside, replied to her asking "what else" and she responded "nothing".

Under cross-examination, Kibirige said he still thought sex was a possibility with her that night.

The trial continues.