'It's laughable' – 1995 Bok James Dalton on Cape Town arrest

Controversial former Springbok hooker James Dalton made a brief appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Dalton‚ 44‚ was arrested for assault‚ resisting arrest‚ and intimidation. He is accused of smashing his BMW into another vehicle on Thursday.

He was a member of the 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok squad.

However he did not play in the final match which saw South Africa beat New Zealand. Dalton was suspended from the tournament after he became involved in a brawl when the Springboks played Canada in Port Elizabeth.

Footage of the game showed he tried to break up the fight. In 2003 the rugby star tearfully announced his retirement from the game at a media conference in Randburg.

He played 43 Tests and 58 matches for the Springboks.

In 2008 he was cleared of attempted murder charges. He had been accused of trying to drown his wife in a bathtub. He was arrested just before Christmas in 2007 after she reported the incident. The Times quoted from her affidavit in reports of the incident. She said he had been unfaithful and it emerged that they were in the process of divorcing.

His lawyer‚ Nikki Mitchell‚ told the court in Pretoria that he was a public figure whose reputation was being tarnished by the media.

Dalton was let off the hook because‚ said state prosecutor Paul du Plessis‚ his wife failed to provide a supplementary statement.

"The investigating officer has tried unsuccessfully on numerous occasions to contact her and trace her. It is insufficient to proceed with what we have – an affidavit made on December 18 [2007] by her‚'' Du Plessis was quoted as saying.

Outside court on Monday he showed reporters his car and said he felt like his rugby reputation had made him a target for sensation. "It's laughable‚ it's just something that got out of control and now it's being [exaggerated]. At first‚ I was accused of having an accident; you can see there was no accident. Then I hit some car and drove away; you saw there's no mark on my car‚" he said.

"It doesn't surprise me; look I mean I've got a reputation with my rugby‚ it's almost as if they're using it against me."

The case has been postponed to April 3.