Man cleared of assault on ex-Australia rugby captain James Stannard tells of his nightmare

Cleared of a one-punch attack on an Aussie rugby star, Sam Oliver is back on home soil and declared: “I’m glad it’s all over.”

And the relieved 23-year-old was especially happy to get a big hug from his mum when he arrived at Newcastle Airport as he was welcomed by his emotional family.

“I just wanted it to be over and get back to my family, I’m so pleased to be home right now,” said Sam, at his Bedlington home in Northumberland.

Sam hit the headlines when he was accused of flooring James Stannard with a “king hit” - Australian slang for a single punch - outside a kebab shop in Sydney in the early hours of March 30.

The 35-year-old former Australia Rugby Sevens captain, who announced his retirement from rugby in June, struck his head on the pavement and suffered a fractured skull, spending two nights in hospital. He was unable to compete at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April.

Sam had denied recklessly causing grievous bodily harm and the alternative charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, claiming Mr Stannard hit him first and that he had acted in self-defence.