Louise Nicholas has blasted the NZRU for how the Chiefs investigation has been handled.

Rape survivor and sexual violence survivors advocate Louise Nicholas has condemned the NZR Chiefs investigation as being a case of rugby bosses "protecting their own".

She said the "double-dutch" internal probe wasn't a police investigation and didn't give the stripper embroiled in the saga, Scarlette, a fair go.

"She wouldn't have got it fair at all.

MAARTEN HOLL/Fairfax NZ NZ Rugby reveals the findings of its inquiry into the Chiefs stripper scandal.

"The sad reality is they haven't apologised to the woman involved either. Why? Because nothing has been substantiated in the rugby union's investigation."

READ MORE:

* We're all tarnished, Rennie says

* Sponsors cut ties to Chiefs

* Mad Monday stripper alleges Chiefs foul play

* Chiefs stripper scandal inquiry widens

* 'Scarlette' dropped for breach of Strippers R Us rules

Better processes around mad Monday celebrations are the "silver lining" to this scandal, she said.

MARK TAYLOR FAIRFAX NZ Chiefs franchise boss Andrew Flexman has apologised to fans.

Nicholas dismissed negative public reaction to Scarlette as unwarranted.

"At the end of the day, she was paid to do her job. It is a lawful job and she went in there to do her job. It got out of hand.

"She didn't just go in there and do it and that's what people have got to remember."

MARTY MELVILLE/PHOTOSPORT NZR chief executive Steve Tew says all of the Chiefs playing squad have been cautioned for hiring the stripper.

STRIPPER UNSURPRISED BY SAGA OUTCOME

The stripper involved in the scandal says she is "disappointed but not surprised" to see no action being taken against the players.

She is warning all women who might be involved in Chiefs events in the future.



"My advice for all women is if you are going to attend an all-male event such as the one organised by the Chiefs, whether you are a paid worker or not, take a friend or a supporter who can make sure you are safe and who can vouch for you afterwards if needed."

CHRIS SKELTON Chiefs coach Dave Rennie says NZ athletes' mistakes end up being seen by the whole country.

CHIEFS INVESTIGATION OVER

The comments come after a New Zealand Rugby investigation found allegations of sexual assault in the stripper scandal had not been substantiated.

The Chiefs' end-of-season celebrations at Okoroire hot pools, near Matamata, in early August made headlines after a stripper alleged she was touched roughly by some players.

JOHN COWPLAND/PHOTOSPORT Sam Cane is not comments on the outcome of the Chiefs investigation.

Upon releasing the investigations findings on Wednesday, NZR chief executive Steve Tew said all of Chiefs playing squad, even the ones not at the function, had received a formal caution for hiring the stripper.

"The investigation was never about the woman at the centre of these allegations," Tew said.

"Our microscope was very much on the players, their conduct and that of the management structure behind them. We have high expectations of all our players and staff, that when they enter this environment, there are many benefits, but the job also comes with responsibilities.

My Food Bag has cut its sponsorship with the Chiefs. The company was started by Master Chef winner Nadia Lim, former Telecom chief executive Theresa Gattung and entrepreneur Cecilia Robinson.

"They did not meet those expectations and as a result, today we have issued formal cautions to all Chiefs players, with every player receiving a letter setting out our disappointment, and their responsibilities in a professional environment."

NZR's general counsel interviewed 15 witnesses as part of the investigation, including nine who were independent, to establish a sexual assault did not take place, Tew said.

The independent witnesses said some players were raucous during the performance with whistling, cheering and shouting, but they were seated or in a few cases, standing by their seated colleagues, according to the NZR investigation.



NZR did not have grounds to pursue misconduct against individual players, with no further action to be taken against the player responsible for hiring the stripper, Tew said.

Chiefs welcome investigation findings. LINK: https://t.co/dk2SA3sgoI — Chiefs Rugby (@ChiefsRugby) September 7, 2016

Mad Mondays will not be banned, but would feature stricter controls.

"We won't ban these type of gatherings, but we will ensure they are within a set of guidelines," Tew said.

"If we drive it underground we're likely to get worse behaviour."

Tew said the incident left a "black mark" on rugby.

"The whole incident has been incredibly disturbing and it is clear that poor decision-making on a number of fronts has led to these players and Chiefs' management putting themselves in a position of vulnerability."

PLAYERS ACCOUNTABLE, RENNIE SAYS

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie says this incident doesn't indicate players are a protected species and can virtually away with anything.

"What it'll highlight is they're just normal Kiwis who make mistakes and unfortunately with our guys you're in the public arena all the time and anything you get wrong, you get exposed for it," said Rennie.

"It's a lesson in regard to that and if you have a celebration behind closed doors and no-one knows what goes on, then that's where it ends regardless of what happens. That's the cross you bear being a professional athlete."

NO COMMENT

Chiefs and All Blacks openside flanker Sam Cane said he wouldn't be commenting on the matter.

Cane said rather than being told not to comment by New Zealand Rugby or the Chiefs, it was his personal decision.

FLEXMAN SPEAKS ON STRIPPER SAGA﻿

Chiefs CEO Andrew Flexman apologised to fans for the incident.

A message to our fans from Andrew Flexman and Dave Rennie. pic.twitter.com/LcJ0JfCPRq — Chiefs Rugby (@ChiefsRugby) September 7, 2016 "We need to address the issues. We are sorry to the people that we have let down. Players have apologised to supporters, sponsors and work colleagues." An emotional Flexman said the controversy had significantly affected him. "It's human nature that it's going to have an impact on you. "It's had an impact on my family, it's had an impact on some of my friends, but - at the end of the day - you rely on those people a lot through times of hardship and I've certainly done that and I feel incredibly supported.



"What's good about this situation now is that the players have really front-footed it. They've owned it. They realise that they've done wrong. "I haven't yet had any personal conversations with players, but I know - in time - I will do that and that will be certainly be a healing process, but they're well-aware that they've brought a difficult time on the club." SPONSORS CUT CHIEFS TIES

Two sponsors have now withdrawn from supporting the Chiefs, including Nadia Lim's My Food Bag.

The incident happened after the Chiefs were knocked out of the Super Rugby playoffs by the Hurricanes on July 30.

Scarlette was later dropped from an Auckland agency she was listed with because she had offered the Chiefs "extras," including touching.

Strippers R Us owner Rachael Kirk said her company had a firm "no touching" policy, which Scarlette had flouted.

Scarlette has said she agreed to an extra payment for allowing indecent touching at the Chiefs celebration.

The NZR announcement of their inquiry findings comes ahead of the All Blacks test match against Argentina in Hamilton on Saturday.

The All Blacks media manager referred all requests for comment to NZR headquarters.

DIVISION OVER INVESTIGATION

The public have reacted strongly to the investigation's outcome

Some people spoke out on social media about the situation while, on Stuff's live blog, multiple users vented their frustrations over the result of the investigation, and how it was carried out.

Props to @MyFoodBagNZ for terminating their sponsorship of the Waikato Chiefs. They will give the rest of this year's fees to Women's Refuge — Jessica Williams (@mizjwilliams) September 7, 2016

"Wonder who did the investigating. Wonder who pays their bills. Wonder who the 'independent witnesses' are. Wonder what their ties to rugby are," asked user Koko Kabana.

"Seriously though? Were we really surprised by the outcome?" asked another user.

"They are being cautioned because they should have never been in the situation where such allegations could have been made. They are supposed to be role models after all," another user added.

Some users sprung to the team's defence.

"The Police didn't investigate so why should NZR punish anyone? The Police enforce the law - therefore the law clearly wasn't breached at all. Just because they are rugby players DOES NOT mean they are despicable people. Innocent until proven guilty - I wish the media thought the same," a Stuff commenter said.

"It's funny how everyone assumes the players are guilty. One party alleged the incident and the other deny it. Sides shouldn't be taken and the NZRU acted in an appropriate way by investigating the allegation but could not justify any further action based on the evidence available," another stated.