KEY POINTS:
Former New Zealand rugby league player Lesley Vainikolo, who is facing an assault charge in England, has had his court case adjourned to allow him to fly home to deal with family matters.
Vainikolo, 29, was charged with causing grievous bodily harm following an incident outside the Second Bridge nightclub in Bath on October 26 last year after which a man in his 20s was taken to hospital with head injuries.
The court hearing case against the now England and Gloucester rugby player, nicknamed known as The Volcano, was adjourned yesterday today to allow him to fly to New Zealand to "deal with sensitive family matters", the Guardian newspaper reported.
At a short preliminary hearing at Bristol Crown Court, counsel for Vainikolo, who appeared on crutches, asked for a plea hearing to be put back to allow the player to visit family abroad.
Judge John Foley moved back a plea and case management hearing to May 8.
Vainikolo made his England rugby debut in last year's Six Nations, but things have not gone smoothly since then.
He will not play again this season after undergoing surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon, an injury sustained while he was playing for Gloucester against Saracens on January 3.
And the Bradford Telegraph and Argus reported that after yesterday's court hearing Vainikolo, his wife Sienna and their 10-month-old baby Kava spent two hours stuck in their car with a flat battery.
- NZPA WGT kca dj nb
