“But I’m A Rugby Player” Legal Defence Ploy Goes Mainstream

When collared and placed in front of a judge the standard ‘jail card issued’ by professional rugby players, is the one along the lines “It’ll harm my future overseas career prospects if I’m convicted”   

One read of this blog will see this mitigation is an almost guaranteed winner in any N.Z Court. 

Only now, it appears you no longer need to be a top player in New Zealand to also issue similar claims, that a conviction will curtail your sporting future.  

You only need to ‘dream’ you’ll one-day play Super Rugby or for The All Blacks & you can present this as a factor for the judge to take-into account come sentencing.  

Even, when it involves the serious charge of punching another man unconscious. 

Enter stage left Kings High Old Boy, Pesajon Tili.

 Thankfully the Police and Judge saw through Tili’s defence ploy.

 

PS: If you are new here, search 'One rule for rugby players' for more background to this post.  

It goes without say another Rugby Pro Escapes Conviction

One pissed-up rugby star. 

Heated late night domestic. 

You already know this won’t end-up well.  

By the end of the night she ends-up suffering bruising to the side of her face and waist, bleeding from the knee. 

Who is ‘he’ in all of this? 

Sevu Reece of Waikato & his court appearance was today.

Facing the charge of common assault, he was discharged without conviction. 

Now replace ‘rugby star’ with say ‘taxi driver’ or ‘office manager’. 

 

Ask yourself?

You’ll doubtless come to the same conclusion as me as to justice being served evenly in this country. 

Up-Date Wednesday 03^rd Oct: Irish Club, Connacht, that Reece was due to join has dumped him despite his discharge. Clearly Irish Rugby officials treat domestic violence differently than N.Z Rugby. If ever there was an opportunity to show decisive action in-line with the sports Respect and Responsibility protocols – this was it. Reece is due to play this weekend for Waikato. What was his punishment again? Remind me.   

2^nd Up-date Monday 15^th October: Well what else did you expect from N.Z Rugby? They would act in the same chivalrous, decisive fashion as their Irish counterparts? Make a stand against domestic violence? You gotta be joking! Reece has been sent on some wishy-washy course, stood down for a single game. Wow! That will teach him a lesson, show the public that wife beaters have no place in the sport of rugby in 2018. Waikato Rugby Union sponsors include the likes of McDonalds, Vodafone, Waikato University, YMCA, The Breeze Radio Station etc.  These sponsors have had their name tarnished.

 

Ex Mako’s player gets off assault conviction

Type ‘one rule’ into the search blog search engine and you’ll see what gives me the motivation to take time to run this site. 

Can’t be stuffed writing too much about Braden Stewart. 

I’d only be repeating myself, increase my blood pressure needlessly.   

'Bags' your kids get him as a teacher.

 

Yet another N.Z Rugby Player is up for assault and wants his mandatory get-out of jail free card

His name is being kept secret. 

All we know is he’s based in Blenheim. 

Player X admits the assault occurred, but now wants to be let off scott-free. 

Simply, because he’s a professional rugby player. 

And you’s (sic) know professional rugby players in New Zealand have scant respect for the law of the land, less respect for the courts. 

That’s because the courts treat rugby players differently.  

 

All tares of the sport.

Don’t believe me? 

Below you’ll see a tag for the posts on ‘One Rule for rugby players’ 

Take 15 seconds to scan through the articles I’ve produced on this theme.  

If you are ‘a tiger for punishment’ try also searching the label ‘assault' as well.    

Then you’ll agree with my summation, that he’ll walk free. 

The precedent is so entrenched. 

That’s the way it is in New Zealand. 

No point in getting up-set.

 

If we want successful N.Z rugby teams, players like this have to be allowed off the hook.

 

Read: ARTICLE

 

 

 

Just another New Zealand Rugby Rep getting pissed and doing stupid things.

 

No real story here. 

May as well blog 'it rained in Fiordland over the weekend'.

Just another New Zealand Rugby Rep getting pissed and doing stupid things. 

How pissed and idiotic was MacKenzie Haugh?

Well he almost drove his vehicle into a bus in N.Zs # 1 tourist resort whilst being four times over the limit.  

Alarmed the public to such a degree, they stripped him of his keys.

No respect for the Police or the public, but hey acting like an arrogant jerk comes as a mandatory character trait in such circles.  

 

Perhaps N.Z Rugby could run say a Respect and Responsibility review to sort this in-grained sh*t out?

In what should have been jail time, given the seriousness of his actions and the small fact Haugh was caught only 12 months ago similarly drunk behind the wheel, he get’s just supervision and community work. 

MacKenzie Haugh is a name we will see again. 

I’m sure he’ll remember the day he played in the same team as Richie McCaw.

Whenever you read the words ‘Promising Rugby Player’ the gory court details normally follow

The ‘promising’ Canterbury rugby player is called Joel Hintz.  

On the piss at a party.    

A boyish wrestling match between two party-goers occurs in front of him.    

What can go wrong, eh?  

This.  

Canterbury Rugby don’t give a rats.

 

Little surprise in that.   

The judge thinks he’s a man of promise.

That character judgement may well come back to haunt him.

Girl Basher ‘Big Man’ Losi Filipo sentenced to supervision

Another ‘Great Out Jail Free Card’ issued to a rugby starling by the weak at the knees N.Z judicial system. 

A paltry nine months supervision.  

Weekly meetings to be held at 7’s Bar?   

Nothing positive has come out of this sorry affair.

The victims have not received justice. 

Still N.Z Rugby fans can rejoice whilst at the same time the public shakes their heads and hope they are not on the receiving end of a similar beating from a street thug like Losi Filipo.   

Odds on Filipo will appear somewhere on the field once his token sentence has been completed.

 

He'll be able to continue to taunt his victims. 

 

That’s the way it works in New Zealand.      

The Losi Filipo Case makes me sick

Go on admit it. 

The two tares are firmly established.

Rugby stars and other Joe Bloggs.   

Why dare and highlight something that all N.Zers know is the truth?  

Most Kiwis are happy to sweep this under the carpet as long as it’s not them or their mates/family that’s on the receiving end.   

I’m talking about rugby ‘stars’ like scum-bag Wellington Lions player Losi Filipo.  

It is unquestionable that (a.) High profile rugby players in N.Z are involved in a disproportionate level of criminality versus the same demographic. Just check out the pages of this blog which is by no means the definitive list. (b.) High profile rugby players in N.Z get lighter sentences when they appear in court using the ‘defence’ a conviction would affect a career in rugby.

So even if you plead guilty to: 

·         Assault with intent to injure

·         Two counts of male assaults female

·         Injures with intent to injure

All crimes which carry prison sentences - you’ll likely get discharged without conviction.  

This site is littered with similar cases. 

The Filipo case is no aberration.  

To quote the judge the street thug “(Filipo)Should be able to fulfil his potential” 

Fuck the innocent parties.  

Filipo’s rugby career comes before the justice society, via the Police, sort and deserved.  

In a sad irony one of the innocent victims, Greg Morgan, was a rugby player himself, required 8 months off work after the vicious unprovoked attack.
 

Morgan was left high & dry by Wellington Rugby Union despite the fact he can no longer play contact sport again.

The Wellington Rugby Union instead backed 'their' man, giving him a reference.  

As did the Upper Hutt Major Wayne Guppy!

Guppy and Wellington Rugby Chief Executive Steve Rogers clearly don't 'give a rats' that one of Filipos female victims requires plastic surgery.

Nor does Filipo apparently care.

Other than manufactured apologies.

To quote Stuff:

Hayden Williams, 22, another of Filipo's victims, saw the rugby player about a week after the court case while standing outside a bar in Wellington.

"He walked passed me and I asked him if he was still punching girls," says Williams. "He signalled out to his friends and two of them came over and yelled at me asking for a fight.

"Losi was laughing at me and kept saying he'd been through court. I felt like he was laughing that he'd been through court and got off."

Welcome to the N.Z (In)Justice system.

 

The Police must appeal.

 

Filipo needs to go behind bars. 

 

 

Yet another so-called ‘promising’ young rugby player walks free from a N.Z Court

At the back end of last year yet another young rugby thug walked free from a New Zealand Court after pleading guilty to assault.

Those familiar with the board-game Cluedo will solve this particular riddle quickly…

Rugby player

In the pub

Drunk late at night

In a fight

Tyrel Lomax is on the books of The Brumbies.

Seriously I don’t know why the N.Z Police bother to prosecute high profile rugby players given the Courts propensity to allow the guilty party to walk all-but free, time after time.

Discharged without conviction for assault.

It’s a waste of taxpayers money even charging them given they seemingly never get jail time, their societal standing protects them.   

Search ‘One Rule for Rugby Players’ on this site for more examples of how the ‘O.J Simpson' Justice System works in New Zealand.

Promising young Plumber escapes conviction over Bar Assault

A promising young plumber with a "glittering career" ahead of him has avoided a conviction for punching a man who was at a bar with the tradesman ex-girlfriend. 

In summing up the case the judge suggested “The information which is before me suggests that you have every opportunity to pursue a productive career, may-be even rising to owning your own plumbing and electrical contracting business if your development continues." 

No not really.

A plumber facing an identical situation would in all likelihood face a fine or imprisonment. 

Unlike Teariki Ben-Nicholas a plumber, government clerk, courier driver, panel-beater etc can’t possibly have ‘a glittering career’ in New Zealand. 

These people never, ever travel overseas on their OE, work etc.  

Just rugby players.

 

The Justice system in New Zealand is once again made to look on par with a Latin American Banana Republic. 

Sorry Bill there has always been a two-tier justice system in New Zealand

University of Law Professor Bill Hodge is correct when stating he was "concerned to see a run of cases where athletes were discharged without conviction, on the basis it would affect their employment and their ability to travel or compete in international competitions.”

"It's just a bit concerning that it seems to be setting up a two-tier system of justice, where one class of people get one form of justice, and a different class of people get a different form.”

His statement comes in light of Blues player George Moala's discharge without conviction.

Only Professor Bill should have replaced the word ‘athlete'; with the word ‘rugby player’.

New Zealand triathletes, rowers, soccer players are after-all all athletes.

Where is their ’get out of jail free’ card?

Last week ex Auckland Grammar student Moala was found guilty of one charge of assault with intent to injure.

What would the chances of escaping conviction under the same circumstances if you were a supermarket worker?

You told your probation officer “I not guilty” and denied your role away from court? 

Nil!

No judge would care if you wanted to travel overseas at some future stage and the conviction would impinge those plans if you were a mechanic or a truck-driver.

This is such an outrage that I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw listings in the Yellow Pages giving Joe-Blogs facing prosecution the ability – at a price - to all solicit the support of ex All Blacks, since clearly their “He is a good guy” references gain sway with N.Z judges.

The crime of assault with intent to injure has a precedent case on its books which reduces what is a serious offence to below that of a traffic fine.

When you get a traffic fine you get a record.  

Yet another, shameful day for N.Z justice. 

 

The principal of the law in New Zealand applying evenly to all its citizens is again in tatters.

 “All indications are you can go all the way in rugby”

‘All the way’ being a metaphor for The All Blacks.

So fucking what Gus Andree Wiltens?

The judge who just failed to convict young Blues wing Tevita Li for drink driving.

Li who plead guilty to the charges, only having the minor inconvenience of having to reimburse the costs for the blood tests.

Regardless of whether the conviction would have impinged his prospects as a sheet metal worker, Work and Income clerk, lawyer etc. - he should be held to account.  

In a farcical Gilbertese twist Li wants to join the Police force after playing pro rugby!  

The New Zealand Judicial system must be a global laughing stock, credibility on par with an African dictatorship.

The principal of the law applying to all its citizens is again in tatters.  

 

One rule for Rugby law-breakers another for you and me.

 

 

Dunedin Judge Confirms Rugby’s Privileged Position

Fracture a blokes jaw, punch one of his front teeth out, in a drunken piece of late night street thuggery. 

All because the bloke made a feeble remark about the rugby club jersey you were wearing.   

What would you expect the punishment to be in a case like this? 

An assault conviction would surely be the minimum?  

Unless of course you are an up and coming Otago rugby starlet like Riley McDowall and not say a clerk in a government department. 

As I am at pains to indicate there is a separate law in New Zealand for Rugby players and Judge Kevin Phillips has merely re-confirmed this by discharging this drunken punk without conviction.  

Keith Robinson Back in Court

Former All Black ‘hard-man’ Keith Robinson is back in court.

This time admitting (Morrinsville District Court, 3^rd July) drink-driving and driving on a suspended licence. 

He has been convicted of driving with a suspended licence twice previously, so clearly the Courts don’t take that sort of offence seriously – if they did Robinson would be facing more than fines. Loss of vehicle for example.    

Nor for that matter evidently is repeat drink-driving a serious issue when you are an AB in N.Z.      

You see these latest charges are at least the fourth time Robinson has been before the courts for driving offences, including drink-driving in 2011 and rumours (Herald on Sunday, 3^rd July) he has other driving convictions from the 1990s. 

Let’s not forget Robinson was involved in a pub brawl last year and only sentenced in January. 

What was that six months ago? 

 

So he's been in court in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

 

Caught DIC at least twice, possibly more.

As I said at the time of the injuring with intent case if he was a Black Power member rather than an All Black member the general public, his local community and judiciary would be taking a far dimmer view of his criminality.   

Up-Date 20/12/2013: Robinson escapes jail time, which is want the Cops wanted. Surely The Police would have known that All Blacks don't get the same punishment as mere mortals in this country? 

 

Drunken Racially Abusive Southland NPC Player gets Convicted

Today in the Invercargill District Court Judge Michael Turner convicted Southland Stags player Nelson Ngaluafe, 21, (above) on charges of assaulting a female and intentional damage. 

Despite attempts to be discharged without conviction Ngaluafe, described in court as a ''Jekkyl and Hyde'' character, was fined  $500 and sentenced to nine months supervision.  

Although Ngaluafe has no previous criminal convictions it came up in court Ngaluafe was involved in an altercation in Queenstown in 2011 in which he was charged and granted police diversion.  

Diversion and now supervision, how many ‘lives’ does he have?   

To cut and paste the Southland Times report which reads like other similar cases, the overtones are always the same: rugby player gets drunk after game and throws his weight around…..  

The judge said Ngaluafe began drinking after a rugby game on April 27 and had continued drinking until 2am when he walked out of an Invercargill tavern heavily intoxicated.  

He approached a parked car in which a man and a 17-year-old woman were sitting, and without provocation, he racially abused the woman, calling her a ''white b#@tch''. He had never met her before.  

She said ''excuse me'', and Ngaluafe grabbed her and tried to drag her out the car window before the male driver intervened, the judge said.  

Ngaluafe then walked to the driver's side of the car and smashed the window with his elbow.  

Police arrived on the scene and arrested him.   

Rugby is never to blame, eh?   

 

Why weren’t the Domestic Violence Campaigners protesting outside Eden Park last night?

Reminder to N.Z Public cheering for this bloke and the NZRFU who audaciously selected him in the first place.

Julian Savea is on bail after appearing in court for the second time last month on a charge of common assault.

Truly shameful exercise, lack of respect to the victim - but I'm seemingly alone in this opinion.  

The presumption of innocence is always a factor in these cases.

But do these sound like the words of an innocent man to you?

"I'm not making excuses for myself. I know what I did was wrong, and I'm taking steps to make sure this will never happen again."

"But I will say my partner and I had an argument, I did some things that are wrong, that I shouldn't have done, and I apologise for that".

Tell us Jules what were you tearfully apologising for with the NZRFU Chief Executive by your side?

"I did some things that are wrong"

Being what?

Women in particular should be outraged. 

The Press all over this.

But hey this is New Zealand.

The likes of Women's Refuge aren't even willing to highlight this abasement.

The All Blacks always have a get out of jail free card, the sycophantic 4th estate by/on their side.

If Savea was just 'Samoan Joe' a factory worker from Lower Hutt or an international League or Soccer player the public would want blood, demand he was stood down from representing the country. 

I'm putting my money on Savea walking free from court despite those damning statements he issued at the press conference.  

There is one rule for high profile rugby players in New Zealand and another for you and me.

OVERWEIGHT ALL BLACK HOPEFUL PINGED FOR DRIVING WHILST DISQUALIFIED

An aspiring All Black continued to drive while disqualified because he said he needed to get to training to work on his fitness.  

Benjamin Tameifuna, a 21-year-old prop who trained with the All Blacks before the test series against Ireland earlier this year, was dropped from the Hawke's Bay Magpies front row during the NPC season because he was thought to be overweight. 

On September 13 he was caught driving the 16 kilometres from his Hastings home to rugby practice at Park Island in Napier, despite having been suspended last year for having too many demerit points.

He had also been caught driving twice before when he should not have been.  

Tameifuna pleaded guilty in Hastings District Court on the 13^th November to two charges of driving while disqualified. He was also caught on October 25, driving to get his car deregistered. 

Judge Richard Watson said that, although Tameifuna breached a court order, he had not been caught speeding or driving recklessly.  

In yet another example of one rule for high profile rugby players and the man on the street.  

Judge Watson sentenced Tameifuna to just 50 hours' community work and disqualified him from driving for nine months. He told him he hoped he would use his community work to talk to and inspire young rugby players. 

Tipping the scales at close to 140kgs wow what an inspiration Tameifuna will be.     

As part of his community work they could hold pep-talks at KFC.  

The judge was evidently impressed with a submission from Chiefs assistant coach Tom Coventry, who had known Tameifuna for some time. He said Coventry had "wonderful insight" into Tameifuna's background, which was "not as privileged as some".  

Tameifuna may not have had a privileged up-bringing but he sure the hell now knows the privileges of being a professional rugby player in New Zealand when it comes to the even-handed implementation of the law.     

WHY NAME SUPPRESSION OF HIGH PROFILE RUGBY PLAYERS IS A JOKE

Back a few years a certain AB was granted permanent name suppression after pleading guilty in the Wellington District Court to fraudulently using a previous employer's taxi chits worth $152.50. He was fined $500 plus costs. 

Well he’s now writing autobiography and an integral part of his tell-all memoirs is the taxi-chits incident which he dubs a low-point in his life. 

There’s one problem detailing this low-point in writing. 

The details were permanently suppressed by the Courts after he successfully pleaded at the time for them to do so.  

But now the smoke-has-settled and there’s a whiff of big dollars in the air through book sales he now wants this name suppression lifted!  

Talk about using the system to suit the circumstances.  

Judiciary of New Zealand take note.  
 

Grand evidence indeed well-known N.Z Rugby players are making a mockery of suppression laws. 

 

If perchance these offenders had pride in their jersey – the same pride Kiwi public naively automatically bestow on players regardless of their anti- social behaviour – they wouldn’t denigrate the name by their actions in the first place.   

This web site wouldn’t exist.  

Clearly the New Zealand public has more pride in the All Black name than many All Blacks themselves.

 

Far too many All Blacks care little about the laws of our country, abuse their social status.  

Sources:    N.Z Herald1      NZ Herald 2  

CONVICTED EX ALL BLACK FIGHTS TO KEEP HIS NAME & DETAILS OF HIS INDECENT ACT A SECRET

A former All Black appeared in the Dunedin District Court on October 15^th where he had had an application for permanent name suppression and discharge without conviction turned down.  

Ex AB X’s lawyer has appealed against the rulings, claiming the harm to his reputation if his name is revealed would outweigh the severity of the offence.

Perhaps ABX should have thought about his reputation prior to the offence?  

ABX was ordered to pay $6500 in reparation to the victim. 

He admitted making an indecent advance upon her at her home in November of 2011.  

Since an application for permanent name suppression was turned-down - when are N.Zers going to know who he is, the finer details of his crime?   

With the complete lack of details on the individual other than his likely home town, sporting affiliations it spreads dispersion upon all ex All Blacks in the Otago region, so he owes it to them to front-up.  

The Court should have at least listed his age in order to protect his innocent team-mates even if  ABX and his lawyer thinks more about his reputation over the team he played for.    

Despite temporary name suppression his name, crime details are sure to be whispered over bar leaners down South anyway.   

 

Source: One News