KEY POINTS:
Former Kiwis rugby league star Tea Ropati walked out on his wife after a heated argument to give each other space on the night he allegedly raped a woman he met at a bar, a jury was told today.
Giving evidence in her husband's defence, Vanessa Ropati told Auckland District Court today the pair had a "heated argument" about "parenting issues".
Mrs Ropati, who has a nine-year-old son from a previous relationship while Ropati has three sons from a previous marriage, said blending the families had been one of the more challenging aspects of the marriage.
The couple also have a five-month-old daughter together.
Mrs Ropati said the couple shared a bottle of wine at home, while Ropati may have had a few beers and then another bottle of wine before he went out.
He organised to meet a friend for a drink after "a heated argument" when it was clear "neither of us were going to back down".
Mrs Ropati said she vaguely remembered her husband coming home that evening and stumbling into bed.
She only learnt of the charges about six weeks later when Ropati called her from Auckland Central Police Station telling her to come down.
Mrs Ropati said she thought he was playing a trick on her but when she arrived he told her the full story.
Ropati, who has pleaded not guilty to six sex charges, including one of rape in on June 14 2006, elected not to given evidence in his own defence.
The prosecution claimed that he took advantage of a drunken woman he met in the Whisky Bar in Ponsonby and raped her in an Auckland park.
Under questioning by Crown prosecutor Phil Hamlin, Mrs Ropati said the alleged rape happened four months after their marriage on Valentine's Day 2006.
She denied her husband had left the house to "cool off" but rather to give each other space.
A woman, granted name suppression, who was at The Whisky bar that evening, told the court she had come forward as a defence witness because she did not agree with how Ropati had been portrayed as a "predator and sleazy".
Police had initially interviewed the woman because they thought she may have been the woman recorded on internal cameras in the back room of the bar, where Ropati and his alleged victim were also filmed.
The witness said once she saw the footage she knew it was not her with another man but had not been able to rule it out until she was shown it.
She said she spoke with Ropati during the evening and found him friendly.
Dr Felicity Smith, a GP and associate professor at Auckland University, contradicted evidence given by prosecution witness Dr Ann Williamson about how the alleged victim received her injuries.
Dr Smith said the injuries, including redness and swelling around the genitals, were common in minor trauma.
Splits in the skin could have been caused by fingernails, she said.
The court also heard from former league stars Tawerau Nikau and Dean Lonergan who have known Ropati for over 20 years each.
Lonergan told the court "I can't believe I'm up here" having to testify to Ropati's good character.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
- NZPA
