REACTION: The Sharks have reacted with caution to reports that seasoned hooker Kyle Cooper was jailed at the weekend after an alleged bar brawl.
The Durban-based Mercury newspaper reported that police are investigating two cases of assault - one with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and another of common assault - after the altercation at an establishment on the Bluff in the early hours of this past Sunday.
Cooper, a second-half replacement for the Sharks in their 14-19 loss to the Crusaders in Durban last Saturday, has made 40-odd Super Rugby appearances for the team.
According to the newspaper Cooper stands accused of punching 19-year-old Camilla Johannessen after a verbal altercation.
Eyewitnesses said a bouncer had to intervene and pull him away.
The young woman informed her 42-year-old father, Donald, of what had happened and he confronted Cooper in the car park where, it is alleged, Cooper's friends held him down while Cooper hit him.
Both family members, father and daughter, laid complaints at the local police station and visited a doctor for forensic examinations detailing their injuries.
Novashni Chetty, PR Manager of the Sharks, told rugby365 that they are "aware" of the incident surrounding one of their players over the weekend.
"It is difficult to pass comment on an incident we know little about, knowing also that there are always two sides to a story, which is why we trust the judicial system to run its course and action will be taken, if needed, on the eventual outcome," Chetty said.
Attorney Jacques Botha told the Mercury that he was representing Cooper.
"The matter was adjourned to look at an alternative dispute resolution," Botha told the newspaper
He said his client had laid a counter charge of assault at Wentworth police station but it had "disappeared" and he was investigating why it had not been registered.
