I was pretty horrified by it but I think the fact that it was on national telly at a showpiece event causing way more controversy than would be usual is the saddest thing about it. I say this with the knowledge that the 'victim' has tried to brush it off and has forgiven it. Lance elbowed him in the mush and the first 'standing' punch is almost universally accepted as legit by people in RL. I have some sympathy with Barnacle Bill's point about the speed at which it happened - a massive rush of blood, against the rules, stupid etc but punishment should stay within the sport in my opinion.

i dont believe they would. A punch is a well established part of the game (rightly or wrongly) and there is an expectation of its possibility. What Flower did is entirely different.

I'm not saying the complaint would get anywhere. They would take the nature of the sport, and its governing body into account and likely dismiss it.

A punch is a well established [itransgression[/i. That isn't the same as it being a part of the game. Either the police are duty bound to investigate a complaint where an assault has occurred or they are not. They could not, without any impropriety, investigate Flower without investigating Hohaia.

Just because you have set up a false dichotomy, doesnt make it true.

The police/cps would only be bound to move forward such a complaint if a reasonable person would not expect such an offence to happen during a game.

Who told you that, and why did you believe them? There are lots of scenarios where one might reasonably expect a crime to occur but it does not relieve the police or the CPS from their duties to follow it up. The assault Flower committed occurred in the context of he himself being assaulted, albeit to a lesser degree. There is no way any investigation could turn a blind eye to that.