Jarryd Hayne has hired a high‑profile US lawyer and will defend a rape allegation made against him in a civil case in California.

Hayne declined to answer questions on the December 2015 matter when he fronted the media after returning to NRL club Parramatta yesterday for the first time since 2014.

His lawyers later revealed in a statement that Hayne said he had told his US legal representatives to have the matter resolved "as quick as possible" after it was revealed a civil suit had been launched last month.

In that statement, Hayne says that he has the utmost faith in the United States justice system and has left this matter with his legal team.

Hayne's lawyers said they were yet to be served with papers for the civil proceedings over the alleged incident, which was said to have occurred during Hayne's stint in the NFL.

Hayne has hired US lawyer, Mark Baute who successfully defended NBA star Derrick Rose over rape claims in a federal civil case in 2016.

Source: AAP