Samoa sevens player Gordon Langkilde has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges following an altercation with Welsh team members at the World Cup in San Francisco.
The San Francisco Examiner reports Langkilde must remain in the United States while awaiting trial on two counts of battery, one count of assault and one count of misdemeanor.
The Samoa Rugby Union high performance manager, Zane Hilton, told Vinnie Wylie, Langkilde was released into the care of the team manager and they are continuing to support the player and his family.
Gordon Langkilde is tackled during the Vancouver Sevens in March.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Transcript
ZANE HILTON: "We obviously are disappointed by what has happened. It certainly overshadowed the rugby that happened on the field, being that our boys certainly played some really good rugby, and what we're currently doing at the moment is looking at working hand in hand with the (Pacific Rugby) Players' Association and (CEO) Aayden Clarke's been a huge help there, working hand in hand in how we can really support both he and the family. Obviously the family are local here in Samoa as well as there's some relatives over in the States at the moment so making sure we're keeping them abreast of everything that's happening as well as making sure that we can support both he and the family right throughout.
VINNIE WYLIE: Does he have some support figures or some Union members or somebody with him over there?
ZH: Yes, certainly. The last thing we were going to do was leave him there by himself. Peter Paulos is our team manager who's currently on the ground in the States, who has stayed with Gordon. The team however has obviously returned back here back to Samoa last night (Wednesday) so Peter our team manager stayed on the ground there is completely abreast of everything that's going on and looking to support him however he can.
VW: There's obviously a police process or investigation that's underway. Is the Samoa Rugby Union going to be starting some sort of investigation of their own?
ZH: Look I think at the moment it's a little too early for that, to be fair. We pretty much need to let the legalities run their course and again once that all happens we will then obviously make our own investigations. Our major focus at the moment is making sure we support him and his family through this. Those type of things and investigations of our own can happen later on. Our number one priority is to make sure we can get him home.
To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following:
See terms of use.