Rugby sevens captain James Stannard in hospital after alleged coward-punch attack

James Stannard ruled out of the Commonwealth Games with a fractured skull after allegedly being attacked on a night out.

James Stannard. Picture: Getty Images

One of Australia’s most pivotal men’s sevens players, James Stannard has been ruled out of the Commonwealth Games with a fractured skull after he was allegedly coward-punched early this morning.

Stannard was out with team-mates farewelling coach Andy Friend, who will step down following the Games, when he was allegedly punched in the head in an unprovoked attack by a man outside a kebab shop near the Coogee Bay Hotel in Sydney’s east.

The alleged perpetrator fled the scene, pursued by two of Stannard’s Australian team-mates who reportedly tackled him to the ground and then held him until police arrived.

A 22-year-old British man was taken to Maroubra police station and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He has been released on bail under strict conditions and will appear in Waverley Local Court on April 19.

A 22-year-old British national was taken to Maroubra police station and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The veteran playmaker remains in a stable condition in St Vincents Hospital with a fractured skull, scratching him from next month’s Gold Coast event which would have been his third Commonwealth Games appearance.

The Australian team, in company with the NZ men’s Commonwealth Games sevens squad, had been out to dinner earlier in the night, accompanied by parents and families. The players had then ventured out for drinks afterwards. Friend apparently was standing next to Stannard when he was hit.

Following the loss of captain Lewis Holland with a hamstring injury, Stannard was set to play a central role in the Commonwealth Games as the main playmaker.

If both players are now forced out of the Games – and Stannard will need to undergo concussion protocols before he is allowed to play – it would severely harm Australia’s prospects of winning a medal.