James Stannard will make a full recovery from injuries he suffered in an assault, but says there’s no way he would have been able to make his sevens rugby swansong at next month’s World Cup.
Australian rugby sevens captain James Stannard’s skull fractured in alleged one-punch attack
Stannard had planned to retire after that tournament, but brought that forward after failing to fully recover in time from the incident that left him with a fractured skull and forced him out of the Commonwealth Games.
“I just started getting a bit light-headed and a few headaches and I just thought at that time, if I can’t get through this light sort of training, there’s no way in the world I can get through a tournament,” Stannard said.
The 35-year-old was allegedly struck by a man in an unprovoked attack in Coogee, NSW after reportedly having a “nice conversation” with him at around 3.10am.
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Stannard had earlier attended a farewell dinner for departing coach Andy Friend, who along with teammates Lewis Holland and Ben O’Donnell chased down a 22-year-old British man after he tried to flee.
Squad members, team management and family members of the players were present at the dinner and throughout the night.