Langkilde pleads not guilty to assault charges

Samoa 7s rep Gordon Langkilde has denied assaulting three members of the Wales team at the World Cup in San Francisco.

He pleaded not guilty to three charges of battery and one of assault after the alleged altercation during his court appearance.

Welsh player Tom Williams was left with broken facial bones after an incident in the tunnel following the team's win over Samoa on 22 July and two other Welsh players suffered facial injuries in the aftermath of the match.

Samoa Rugby Union high performance manager, Zane Hilton told Radio NZ that Langkilde is being looked after by their team manager, Peter Paulos, who has remained in San Francisco.

"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," he said.

"The team however has obviously returned back here to Samoa (on Wednesday evening) so with 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."

He said the SRU does not condone Langkilde's behaviour but is continuing to support the player and his family as the legal process plays out.

"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," he said.

"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 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 we can support he and the family right throughout."

Hilton added that SRU will conduct their own investigation in due course.

The 22-year-old must remain in the US and is next due in court on 15 August.

By Reginald Chandar