The Crown Prosecution service for England and Wales has withdrawn a sexual assault charge against former New Zealand fullback Mils Muliaina after it decided there was insufficient evidence to bring him to trial, according to news agency Reuters.

Muliaina, 35, was arrested last April while playing for his Irish club Connacht against Gloucester in England, with the former 100-cap All Black taken away from Kingsholm Stadium for questioning after the fixture. He was later charged by police in connection with an alleged sexual assault in Wales the previous month.

However, New Zealand's player union released a statement on Tuesday saying the CPS had withdrawn the charge.

Muliaina said in Cardiff: "I always knew I had nothing to hide, I had done nothing wrong. However, being unable to comment publicly has been incredibly frustrating.

"While I understand the police have a job to do, the manner of my arrest and the subsequent outcome of their investigation remains difficult to understand. It has been an extremely tough seven months.

"When I heard that the charges were to be withdrawn, my immediate thoughts were with my son. He should never have been through what he has been through. Now I just want to put this behind us and carry on with life."

New Zealand Rugby Players' Association CEO Rob Nichol hit out at Cardiff police for their handling of the case.

"The manner of his arrest, poor investigative process and nature of the charge resulted in unreasonable and unwarranted damage to Mil's public reputation and caused extreme anguish and stress for Mils and those close to him," he said.

"While Mils may have legal avenues open to him should he choose to go down that path, you would like to think that someone in authority within Cardiff Police will be looking at the conduct of the staff involved in this matter."