A Dunedin rugby player who punched a man unconscious claimed a conviction would end his dreams of playing professionally overseas.
But there was a problem.
Pesajon Tili (22) could put no evidence of that before the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
Judge Dominic Flatley declined the man’s application for a discharge without conviction.
"At this stage ... your position amounts to no more than ambitions or goals," he said.
And it was not just the judge who was sceptical of Tili’s pro-rugby prospects.
The Otago Daily Times asked Harbour Rugby Club’s premier team coach and former Highlanders player Ryan Nicholas whether the player’s Super Rugby aspirations were outlandish.
"Absolutely," he said.
Tili played most of his rugby for the club’s Colts team last season, coming off the bench only a handful of times for the top side.
Mr Nicholas described him as "a joker".
"If he somehow put on 30kg, grew another three feet and played amazingly this year he might have a chance of playing Super [Rugby]. It’s not out of the realms of possibility but it’s a far stretch," he said.
Tili came before the court after pleading guilty to a charge of injuring by an unlawful act, following an incident in the Octagon early on March 18.
He was a passenger in a car that had stopped at traffic lights.Tili said the victim licked the car window, which prompted him to get out and confront him.
According to court documents, the defendant approached the victim and said he wanted to "smash" him.
The man’s friends tried to smooth things over but, "without warning", Tili struck.
He hit the victim with a "left-hook-style punch", which connected with his jaw and set him crashing backwards on to the pavement.
The man lay there unconscious for about a minute, the back of his head bleeding. He required five stitches to patch up the wound, the court heard.
"This person could have died and there’s no backing off from that," defence counsel Brian Kilkelly said.
Mr Kilkelly said, after speaking to his client at length, it became clear the death of his father three years ago had had a profound effect on him and that grief was something that needed to be properly addressed.
Judge Flatley, though, said Tili’s acts amounted to "gratuitous violence".
"Had you been serious about your ambitions and goals you wouldn’t have offended in this way," he said.
After rejecting the discharge without conviction, he remanded Tili on bail to be sentenced in January.
