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'I have been battling issues of PTSD, depression and anxiety following the incident'

Former Melbourne Rebel Lopeti Timani. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Wallabies flanker Lopeti Timani says he has struggled with his mental health since being the victim of an attack by former Melbourne Rebels teammate Amanaki Mafi in New Zealand.

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Timani released a statement following the sentencing of Japanese international Mafi at a Dunedin District Court on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old was discharged without conviction but ordered to pay $50,000 reparation to Timani after pleading guilty to assault with intent to injure.

The incident took place in Dunedin in July last year, in the early hours of the morning following Melbourne’s loss to the Highlanders to end their Super Rugby season.

The Tongan-born pair, who knew each other as children, engaged in a fight which ended with Timani being repeatedly punched to the head.

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Timani, 29, who now plays his rugby in France, released a statement to Stuff outlining the personal cost of the attack.

“Working in an industry that markets itself of men being tough, strong and unbreakable made it challenging at times to speak out,” Timani said.

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“I have been battling issues of PTSD, depression and anxiety following the incident which has taken its toll on me personally and professionally.

“Going through this drawn-out process has also caused irreparable damage to my professional reputation through incorrect reporting by the media and defamatory statements but I felt it was important to stand up to this type of behaviour and this person.”

Back-rower Timani played 12 Tests for Australia in 2016-17, having represented the Waratahs for two seasons and then the Rebels for five.

He hoped Mafi’s guilty plea, apology and reparation would bring a sense of closure.

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Japan-based Mafi has represented the Brave Blossoms since 2014 and played twice during their run to the quarter-finals as hosts of this year’s World Cup.

– AAP

The medic whose words set off an altercation between Munster and Saracens has been criticised:

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Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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