Unnamed S14 player on assault charge
Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:18
An unnamed Super 14 rugby player is before the courts over a carpark assault that left a man needing medical treatment.
The alleged assault occurred outside a pub in Mangawhai, north of Auckland, last August. The player has been granted name secrecy until his next court appearance.
Warkworth police investigated the incident and a 25-year-old man was arrested several weeks later.
He appeared in the Warkworth District Court in October charged with injuring with intent to injure.
Sergeant Bede Haughey of Warkworth confirmed that a 25-year-old man had been arrested, but said he could not comment further as the matter was before the court.
Over the past year, other top rugby players have been in trouble over assaults.
In December, Taranaki rugby player Paul Perez, 23, was fined $750 for choking and punching his pregnant partner. At his sentencing in New Plymouth, he sought a discharge without conviction to avoid damaging his chances of playing rugby overseas.
This was rejected by Judge Robert Murfitt, who told him he used "substantial violence" and convicted him on two charges of assault and one of intentional damage.
Last April, Blues halfback Taniela Moa was stood down for a Super 14 match against the Lions after claims that he was involved in a bottle-throwing incident at an Auckland rugby club.
The latest incident is one of a string of court cases in which alleged or convicted offenders have been granted name suppression and this has name secrecy has become a major issue in New Zealand, under discussion even at Cabinet level.
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