Jarryd Hayne agrees 'consent was effectively up in the air' before alleged sexual assault

Jarryd Hayne has admitted he was knocked back twice by a woman when he invited her to join him in Newcastle, before catching a taxi to her home in 2018 and allegedly sexually assaulting her.

On his second day of giving evidence under cross-examination, the former NRL star told the Newcastle District Court the 26-year-old woman had given him "promising signs" in messages she was willing to partake in sexual activity, including pictures of herself in lingerie, but hadn't explicitly given him consent in the lead-up to their meeting.

"Nothing she'd done (indicated) she would consent to sexual activity once you arrive?" Crown prosecutor Ryan Costello asked the defendant.

"Yes," Hayne said.

"Consent was effectively up in the air?" Mr Costello asked.

"Yes," said Hayne.

The 32-year-old told the court once he got to her house in the suburb of Fletcher, "she said she didn't want to have sex".

But he said when she pulled her pants off and when he proceeded to kiss and touch her, "she never said no".

Hayne also claims he first made contact with the alleged victim in 2014 while he was in Origin camp.

He told the court he sent her a message on Instagram saying "good luck" as she was competing in a modelling competition, a message he only remembered in the weeks after the alleged attack.

"When I got charged, I went through my phone, and found it," Hayne said during evidence.

The victim denies ever receiving the message.

The trial continues.