Ex-All Blacks scrum-half Byron Kelleher guilty of domestic violence
Byron Kelleher, the former All Blacks and Toulouse scrum-half, was found guilty of domestic violence by a Paris court on Monday.
Kelleher received a suspended six-month prison sentence for domestic violence against his former girlfriend when he returned to France to see their son.
Kelleher, 47, must also pay a fine of €1,000 as well as €800 in compensation to his former girlfriend, according to the AFP newswire report published on rugby365.com.
The court found that in June 2023, under the influence of alcohol, Kelleher attacked the mother of their son and hit her in the face and body. She told the court that Kelleher dragged her down a corridor, pulling her hair.
“I don’t recognise the facts,” said Kelleher. “It’s not true.” He also denied that he was drunk and said he does not have “a problem with alcohol”.
“I drink like everyone else drinks,” he said. On the night of the crime, he said he had “had a few glasses of rose” with a friend. He said his wife attacked him and he only defended himself by grabbing her wrists. “She broke my tooth,” he said.
The woman, who filed a complaint more than a month after the incident, said that she “saw herself dying”. “He scares me,” she said.
Kelleher, who won 57 New Zealand caps, spent four seasons playing for Toulouse in France. He was famed for his physical style, often preferring to run rather than pass. Kelleher had already had a run-in with the police in 2009 following a brawl in Toulouse after a collision while driving under the influence of alcohol.
He was also briefly taken into police custody in October 2013 for “drunk driving” in Bordeaux. In 2017, he was fined 200 euros for damage and domestic violence committed in 2016 with another woman.
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Yes for sure, thanks for sharing. I fully understand that both parties are better off, no one needs to lose, neither competition suffers, in fact both can be better as a result.
Too many true rugby fans (and analysts) don't understand that.
I wouldn't imagine there is a date aye. It was a long decline rugby in SA and Australia was going through, and was so bad it even effected NZ, caused them to argue to can a couple of teams. The nation of SA probably grew into it? I know I watch more of the NH now specifically because of the SR teams playing there. I actually had to mention to Nick Bishop (because of his stubborn perspective) the other day that I've never been a fan of Super Rugby, I don't think they chose the right way to go about professionalism back in 1995. Unfortunately, NZR was stuck between a rock and a hard place, because it had SA's and Australians that ran their unions by States, so we had to separate into "two or three" teams as a result. Our game is in the kak now because of it, they want to kill off the lifeblood of our National Provincial Championship. But now we might see a way out of it, so it's all good.
Go to commentsOh, so the Boks going back to half way means they definitely scored?
Don’t make me laugh…..
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