Hurricanes hooker admits disorderly behaviour

Dane Coles. Photo / Getty Images

Hurricanes hooker Dane Coles yesterday admitted disorderly behaviour after abusing and manhandling police in a drunken scuffle.

Coles, 22, who had been excused from attending Porirua District Court, was ordered to appear for sentencing if called upon in the next six months, the Dominion Post reported.

The court was told Coles had previous convictions for fighting in public and drunk driving.

His latest brush with the law arose out of an incident in Paraparaumu last month.

Sergeant Mike Craig told the court Coles had been with friends and as they walked to a bar, they were seen running on to residential properties.

About 8.20pm, police found a "heavily intoxicated" Coles on a private lawn holding a large pot plant.

"He had taken off his shirt and approached the police car ... yelling obscenities at police," Mr Craig said.

He and the rest of the group, at the request of police, returned to the house they had come from, but 40 minutes later a passing police patrol spotted Coles fighting with a friend in the driveway.

Mr Craig said Coles refused the officers' offer to drop him back at his parents' home nearby and became unruly as they walked him to the squad car.

Coles' lawyer, Tim Castle, urged a discharge without conviction. He said Coles was "remorseful, regretful and embarrassed" and had never tried to shirk responsibility for his behaviour.

Coles had already been investigated for serious misconduct by the New Zealand Rugby Union, fined $1000, suspended without pay from a Super 14 match and ordered to undertake alcohol counselling.

Judge Jan Kelly did not accept that Coles should be discharged.

The NZRU investigation and media attention were because of his job, not the type of conviction, she said.

An NZRU spokesman said the convictions were unlikely to stop Coles playing in Australia or South Africa as they were at the lower end of the criminal scale, the newspaper said.

- NZPA