SCOTTISH Rugby chiefs have condemned the behaviour of a Glasgow Warriors player who punched another player in a disturbance at a kebab shop as 'completely unacceptable' he was found guilty and fined £750 for assault.
Forward Ryan Wilson, 25, who has been capped nine times for his country, was immediately suspended from club and international duty - a move that means he will miss the forthcoming Six Nations and possibly the World Cup in the autumn - after he was convicted of attacking Glasgow Hawks captain Ally Maclay, after a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Wilson, 25, who was wearing a Batman costume during a Halloween night out, on October 27 2013, in Great Western Road, Glasgow, pulled Gavin Quinn from a seat in the Barbeque Kings takeaway then punched Mr Maclay, who was in a Tweedledee costume.
Wilson was originally charged, along with Ryan Grant, 29, a Glasgow Warrior and British Lion, and club mate Rory Hughes, 21, of kicking and stamping on Mr Maclay to his severe injury. Mr Grant and Mr Hughes were found not proven and they will return to their club.
In a statement, Scottish Rugby said "This has been a wholly regrettable episode. Regardless of the verdict there is absolutely no place in the game, on or off the pitch, for the sort of behaviour that has led to criminal proceedings being taken.
"Rugby has a longstanding reputation as a family sport and all players have a responsibility to uphold the game's values.
"Those involved have learned a harsh lesson and I know that the three players, who are all our employees, are extremely chastened and remorseful.
It continued: "It's completely unaccepable for any player within our employment to let themselves get into such a situation and this case should act as a powerful reminder to all players that they are role models for our support."
It added that in addition to Wilson's suspension, the body will be considering at board level what further action is appropriate.
It added that Grant and Hughes had already been the subject of internal disciplinary action.
Scottish Rugby said that it 'acknowledges and regrets the effect this incident has had on Ally Maclay' and will be talking to him to find out if he needs any further support.
The court heard how, Mr Maclay, 30 said "leave it Batman" after learning Wilson had grabbed his friend by his jumper and pulled him from a seat onto the floor in the kebab shop.
The rugby player and former Hawks captain was hit and ended up on the floor with Wilson and Mr Quinn and several others surrounding them.
After falling to the ground the PE teacher was left dazed, with a fractured eye socket and a bloodied face.
Jurors found Wilson guilty of punching Mr Maclay only, but not kicking and stamping on him, and found the charge against the other two not proven.
Sheriff Martin Jones QC was invited to impose an absolute discharge on Wilson, meaning he would have no criminal record, but told him: "I do not consider that it would be appropriate."
Fining Wilson £250 for assault on Mr Quinn and £500 for the assault on Mr Maclay, the sheriff told the rugby player that both assaults "appeared to be unprovoked" and within a short time of one another, and after drinking alcohol.
He added: "There's nothing unusual about that situation."
During the trial, father of-two Wilson admitted assaulting Gavin Quinn, by pulling him onto the floor.
The court heard Wilson wanted to sit in the booth beside Quinn so he could speak to his rugby colleague, Richie Vernon - dressed as a shark - but he was told to go away.
Wilson put his foot on the table in a bid to climb over into the seat, but Quinn pushed it away.
He then grabbed hold of Quinn and pulled him from the seat on to the floor and there was a bit of a struggle between the men which "fizzled off".
Mr Maclay then came in to the food joint and was told by his friend what had happened to him.
Colm Dempsey, representing Wilson, handed the sheriff a number of testimonials on his client's behalf.
He said in addition to being capped, he ha played 88 club games and until this incident his disciplinary record was clean.
Mr Dempsey said: "Mr Wilson plays a part in the club's community work which involves coaching sessions at local schools and visits to Yorkhill Children's Hospital."
The lawyer said Wilson believes he has "let himself, his club and his country down".
Glasgow Hawks said in a statement it would be continuing to supports its player. It added: "The club hope that a lesson has been learned from these events about the standard of behaviour which should be expected from rugby players."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article