Suspended prison sentence for Toulouse player for assault
NEWS: France-based New Zealand rugby player George Tilsley has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence for assaulting his girlfriend.
The 31-year-old wing, who is contracted to Top 14 champions Toulouse, was placed in police custody on 10 August and pleaded guilty.
He was arraigned following the guilty plea, under a simplified procedure that allows the accused to receive a lighter sentence.
Tilsley is also under probation for two years and is banned from contacting the victim.
Tilsley became the first player from Papua New Guinea to represent New Zealand when he was picked for the All Black Sevens side in 2014.
A year later he moved to France where he has played in the Top 14 for Agen, Bordeaux-Begles, Perpignan. He is now at Toulouse as a World Cup ‘joker’ to cover for players absent during the tournament.
Toulouse said the player was officially off work, with a knee injury, at the time of the incident, and that no disciplinary action could be taken until the end of this period at the end of August.
Toulouse open their season against Bayonne on Friday.
