Vila Apu-Ula (34) was picked to lead the South Island Scorpions for their match with Samoa in Christchurch as the curtain-raiser to the Kiwis clash against Scotland in the Rugby League World Cup on Saturday.
Instead he pulled out when a prison term looked the likely outcome of his appearance at the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
The defendant's legal woes stemmed back to August last year when he was convicted of assault after elbowing a man in the head at the Octagon Night 'n Day store during a late-night brawl.
Apu-Ula, who spent a decade in Australia playing league professionally, was ordered to undertake 100 hours' community work but was hauled before the court a year later having barely started the sentence.
At that hearing, Judge Michael Crosbie gave the Otago Whalers star eight weeks to complete 64 hours.
If not, Apu-Ula could expect a stint behind bars, he said.
When the defendant arrived at the Dunedin District Court yesterday, he was 20 hours short of that mark.
Counsel Steve Turner explained his client, a self-employed builder, had got into trouble with the IRD and owed them more than $30,000.
The crisis had resulted in him focusing on his business problems rather than his court troubles.
``Juggling life was a bit too hard,'' Apu-Ula told the judge.
Judge Crosbie called the defendant's efforts to complete his community work ``appalling'' but said imprisonment in such circumstances should be reserved for the worst offenders.
He accepted Apu-Ula had not simply been ``sitting on his hands''.
``You are as close as you possibly can be to going to prison today,'' the judge said.
``What saves you from that is the context.''
He cancelled the defendant's former term and imposed a new sentence of 80 hours' community work.
Outside court, Apu-Ula told the Otago Daily Times how much rested on the Judge Crosbie's decision.
``I would've lost everything [if sent to prison]; the house, work, the whole shebang. I would've just gone backwards,'' he said.
While missing the chance to play for the Scorpions was a blow, he said rep football was not his goal any more.
His ambition, he said, was to grow the game in the South and give younger players from here a platform to make a name for themselves.
``I'm playing for the love of the game,'' Apu-Ula said. ``It's good for my soul.''
He said moving to Australia as a teenager on a lucrative contract had been a surreal experience for such a young rugby league player.
After failing to make a real mark with the Canberra Raiders, Apu-Ula found himself playing A-grade for the Kuttabul Camelboks in Queensland.
While he was unsure how long his league career would last, he was confident yesterday would be his last visit to court.
``I won't be back here again,'' Apu-Ula said outside the court.
