Club player admits attack on opponent

A former Wellington club rugby player has admitted criminal responsibility for an on-field attack that left an opponent with severe facial injuries.

Iosefo Kalolo Aukusitino pleaded guilty in the Hutt Valley District Court yesterday to one charge of injuring Petone player Ridge Studd with reckless disregard. He had originally been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm but that charge was later downgraded.

The charge related to an incident during an Ambassador’s Sevens Tournament match between Petone and Aukusitino’s club, Marist St Pats (MSP), at Upper Hutt’s Maidstone Park on November 14, 2020.

He will be sentenced on March 9, 2022. At yesterday’s hearing, the 23-year-old’s lawyer Tim Castle said his client had sought to have a restorative justice meeting with the victim before then.

Wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. As well as any court-imposed sentence Aukusitino may face, he is banned from Wellington club rugby games.

That penalty was imposed after a Wellington Rugby Football Union disciplinary committee hearing, which found Aukusitino had struck Studd, ‘‘leading to serious consequences to the health of the victim’’. According to a report presented at the hearing, witnesses saw Studd ‘‘convulsing on the ground’’ in the wake of the brawl. He was hospitalised, suffered multiple fractures, required reconstructive facial surgery and was unable to work in the weeks afterwards.

Aukusitino’s brother and teammate Sagele Aukusitino was suspended from club rugby for a year. Another brother, Patrick Aukusitino, a spectator, was banned for two years for entering the field and striking Studd. A third MSP player, Jeremiah Tuiatua, was suspended for five matches.