Ex-NRL player Jarryd Hayne allegedly cleaned blood from his hands and mouth before hopping in a waiting taxi and leaving the home of a woman he sexually assaulted, a court has heard.
The former Eels fullback is accused of forcibly performing sex acts on a woman in her NSW Hunter home on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final.
The 35-year-old's third trial on two counts of sexual intercourse without consent began in the NSW District Court on Monday.
READ MORE: Man crushed to death trying to steal catalytic convertor off car
"Not guilty," Hayne said when the charges were read out.
He has consistently denied the alleged assault since he was charged in November 2018.
The case has drawn attention due to Hayne's high-profile as a former NRL star.
"You'll find out if you don't already know," Judge Graham Turnbull SC told prospective jurors on Monday morning.
READ MORE: Man found dead after 10-hour Queensland siege
He reminded those selected for the jury to keep an open mind and remain impartial.
"Concentrate on the evidence in this trial … this trial alone," he said.
The jury of 14, seven men and seven women, will be whittled to 12 prior to a verdict being delivered.`
Crown prosecutor John Sfinas gave the jury a brief summary of the case against Hayne on Monday.
He told jurors they would hear Hayne and the woman he's accused of assaulting had never met before, having communicated through social media.
Hayne was in town for a bucks' weekend when he took a taxi to the woman's home in suburban Newcastle.
The taxi waited outside while Hayne allegedly assaulted the woman, as she told him "no" and "stop".
The alleged assault involving oral and digital sex lasted about 30 seconds, ending when the woman's genitals began to bleed, Mr Sfinas said.
READ MORE: Rapper dies after alarming video at concert
READ MORE: Grocery bills swell to record highs
The jury would hear Hayne wiped blood from his hands and mouth before leaving, and see photographs of blood in the woman's room and on her bed, Mr Sfinas said.
Judge Turnbull told the jury evidence from the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had already been recorded and would be played during the trial.
Hayne was a star player for the Eels in the NRL, represented NSW in State of Origin and played internationally for Australia and Fiji during his professional rugby league career.
The trial continues.
Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.
