Northern Districts cricketer Scott Kuggeleijn's rape trial begins

A woman who alleges she was raped by Northern Districts cricketer Scott Kuggeleijn says she told him "no" dozens of times throughout the night.

Twenty-five-year-old Kuggeleijn faces a charge of sexual violation by way of rape after the alleged incident in the complainant's Hamilton East flat on May 17, 2015.

He is on trial in front of a jury today in the Hamilton District Court.

The complainant told the jury of six men and six women she ended up getting overpowered by Kuggeleijn who, she said, held her arms over her head as he had non-consensual sex with her.

Earlier, the woman told the jury she had a bit to drink that night - about six Smirnoff RTDs, three quarters of a bottle of wine and several shots at a friend's 18th birthday party.

She said her memory of the night was a bit hazy but recalled there being a good vibe at the party.

"I was having a good time. The mood was light-hearted, joking ... chatting. Everyone was mainly talking in the lounge."

She met Kuggeleijn and described their chat being in "a light-hearted tone, flirty tone".

"I was on the couch and he was on a chair or couch opposite me."

Eventually she became "fairly intoxicated" and was drunk to the point where some of her friends were raising concerns about her going into town.

After arriving in town, the complainant and Kuggeleijn went into Keystone bar.

She went straight to the toilet but ended up falling asleep, becoming "semi comatose".

The jury was also played CCTV footage of the pair in Keystone bar on Victoria St, dancing on the dance floor, and kissing in a hallway outside the toilets.

They eventually got a taxi to her flat, where they both headed to her bedroom and got undressed and into bed.

They then began kissing and fondling each other with the complainant stating Kuggeleijn tried to pull her underwear off on many occasions.

"Initially I was okay with it and then I started to say 'no' in a light-hearted way because I didn't feel I needed to be aggressive about it, thinking he would stop ...then at one point he said 'let me, just let me' and I would say, 'no, no, stop'."

When asked why she asked him to stop, the complainant said it was "weird, 'I know your brother' and I just don't want to."

When asked how many times she would have said no to him, the complainant replied "dozens".

When waking the next morning, Kuggeleijn again initiated kissing. Things became heated and again the complainant said she repeatedly had to try and hold up her underwear as Kuggeleijn pressured her for sex.

However, at one point, she said, she couldn't hold them up any longer and he got them down, eventually holding her arms above her head and began having sex with her.

"He'd ignored me saying no, so I just looked up at the ceiling and, at this point, I started having tears coming down my face."

Afterwards, she wanted to get out of the room straight away so fled to her flatmate's room who then asked Kuggeleijn to leave.

Earlier today Kuggeleijn's lawyer said the cricketer had "reasonable grounds" to believe the woman he's accused of raping consented.

Defence counsel Philip Morgan, QC, said the sex was consensual.

"The defence case is that the complainant did consent to the act of intercourse that took place. Regretted later, no doubt.

"He believed that he was having intercourse with a consenting partner and he had reasonable grounds for thinking that."

He urged the jury to keep in mind the credibility of witnesses, "somebody telling the truth as opposed to gilding over the awkward parts".

But Crown prosecutor Jacinda Foster said that although they kissed and touched each other, "sexual intercourse with this man is not what she wanted".

"She told him, he didn't listen," Foster submitted.

Foster said that both Kuggeleijn and the woman first met at a party in Silverdale where they began drinking before going into town.

After a short time at a city bar, the pair taxied to the woman's flat.

The alleged incident occurred the next morning when the complainant will say Kuggeleijn got on top of her, pinned her arms down, told her to "shoosh" and had sex with her, despite her saying no earlier in the night and that morning.

She told the jury they will later hear about a text that Kuggeleijn sent to the complainant later in the day after the alleged incident.

"You will hear about a text that [says] he had heard she felt pressured to have sex and apologised to her, describing his behaviour as 'very persistent'."

The case didn't come down to unravelling complicated facts or law. Rather, credibility. "The issues are findings of credibility," said Foster.

"Effectively the key to your assessment ... will be whether you have determined about the credibility of the witness. The truthfulness and reliability of the witnesses that you hear."

The trial, which is being overseen by Judge David Wilson, QC, is set down for five days.

In advising the jury earlier, the judge canvassed the issue of consent which is an integral part of the trial.

He said it was still consent if it was given but regretted later, and also still applied if it was given while the complainant was under the influence of alcohol.

Kuggeleijn is being supported in court by family, including his father, Chris, who is a former New Zealand cricketer.

Kuggeleijn has played cricket previously for Wellington but returned to his home town of Hamilton three years ago to play for the Northern Districts Knights.

In questioning from prosecutor Jacinda Foster, the complainant told the court she was upset for most of the rest of the day.

"I was just really upset and was just thinking what other people were going to think of me. I was really concerned to say that I could have been raped out loud.

"I didn't want to be judged for it. It's hard, obviously I was drunk, he was drunk and I took a boy home to my bed and some people would think 'oh well, what do you expect'."

Defence counsel, Morgan put to the complainant she felt worried she would be labelled a "bitch or a tease" if she didn't let him have sex with her.

"In the morning, I thought the same thing would happen again, I would say 'no' a few times and he would be persistent but eventually he would stop."

Morgan put to her that she felt used and had a panic attack in regret of her actions.

"What I'm putting to you is that you gave in not to Scott Kuggeleijn, but the fear of what people would think of you," Morgan repeated.

"No," the woman replied.

Morgan put to her the fact they lasted just 15 minutes in town was proof that she wanted to get Kuggeleijn home and "continue on with the rest of the night".

"We were drunk and having fun and I didn't think I couldn't wait to get him out of the bar, no."

Morgan put to her that the way she said no was in a way that meant 'not tonight'.

"I suggest that when you and Scott fondled each other he tried to have sex with you and that's when you said 'no' as in lightheartedly and not tonight."

But she denied that, saying that initially she said no in a light-hearted manner but then eventually had to get firmer with him as he repeatedly tried to pull her underwear down.

"I didn't think I better kick him out in case he pins me down and rapes me later. That wasn't a thought that went through my head."

The alleged victim completed giving evidence today.

The trial will continue tomorrow with a new witness.