Warrant of arrest for Wallaby wing
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Wallabies wing Digby Ioane after he failed to appear in a Melbourne court on an assault charge.
Ioane, 27, is facing a charge of unlawful assault, after he allegedly assaulted a man in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran on March 9.
A magistrate issued the warrant when Ioane did not appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.
The 35-Test wing was training with his Australian teammates at Carlton's Visy Park shortly before the matter was mentioned briefly in court.
Brisbane-based Ioane is facing a charge of unlawful assault after he was allegedly involved in a brawl, the day after he played in the Reds' win over the Melbourne Rebels.
The 27-year-old was stood down by the Reds for their next match.
Ioane wasn't charged at the time by Melbourne police, but was later charged on summons on May 17 – when he was in South Africa with the Reds.
Ioane played in the 21-23 first Test loss to the Lions at the weekend, but is in doubt for the second game at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium due to a shoulder problem.
The injury-ravaged Wallabies, who need to win the second Test to keep the series alive, arrived in Melbourne on Sunday.
The Australian Rugby Union said they were not aware of the issue until alerted by the media.
"ARU was only made aware late this [Monday] afternoon of the issue involving Digby Ioane," the statement said.
"Since being made aware through media reports, ARU has worked expeditiously with Digby Ioane and Victorian Police to attend to this matter.
"Digby will report to Victorian Police and will be issued with a revised court date. No further comment will be made at this time."
Sources: AAP & FoxSports
