Marshall assault victim not bitter

Justin Marshall

Gore's Hemi Mathias is still waiting for an apology 12 years after he was seriously assaulted by Justin Marshall.

But he no longer holds a grudge against the All Black halfback.

Marshall's 1993 conviction for assault resurfaced this week with the release of his self-titled biography.

In it there are conflicting versions of the incident, but there's no dispute that Mathias was left with a broken nose, fractured eye socket and stitches to his chin after an altercation in Gore.

Marshall, who had made his debut for Southland a year earlier, was found guilty of common assault, but not guilty on a charge of assault with intent to injure, which could have sent him to jail and prematurely ended the 19-year-old freezing worker's budding rugby career before it really started.

Mathias refused police advances to press charges at the time, but remains disappointed about the incident.

"I've never had a ring or apology from Justin. When the police charged him I got about $1000 from him," Mathias said.

"Believe it or not - and I didn't tell anybody this because I wanted to leave it up to him - if he had rung me in that first five or six weeks I probably would have given him the $1000 back, but he wasn't man enough to ring so I thought, 'well bugger him, I've given him an opportunity, he's had a chance'."

Marshall, who was threatened by Mathias' friends in the days following the incident, was advised by police not to visit him in hospital and yesterday said it was unlikely he would seek him out now.

"There was nothing more that I could have done and it's something I'm not proud of.

"I suppose if there's anything Hemi could take out of it - and I try to get that point across in the book - it was a very unpleasant time, more so for him, but also for me, and it really turned my life around.

"I think, deep down, he might not like me at all. But I imagine he feels a little bit of satisfaction that I learnt a big lesson out of that day, because I have.

"He was fantastic being co-operative with the book, by all accounts he's a great guy.

"It's a bit difficult for me. I'll certainly be giving him a copy of the book because of his contribution, but I don't really think [approaching Mathias] is something I should do, because I just don't know how he feels about me, to be honest."

Mathias said time had healed any lingering bitterness.

"I've got no big grudge there. I'm a grandad now, I'm past the stage of looking for revenge."

- NZPA