The New Zealand media provide us with the oddest sporting story of the day, involving Craig Clarke, former captain of the Chiefs. More pertinently for Irish fans, Clarke spent the 2013/14 season at Connacht, where he captained the side to that famous win away to Toulouse in the Heineken Cup, before ending his three-year contract prematurely owing to forced retirement.
He has hit the news in his native New Zealand today as it was revealed in court that he was kidnapped and, at gunpoint, forced to help thieves make a getaway from chasing police.
The incident occurred in May 2016 in New Plymouth. Clarke stopped his car when he saw a couple of men frantically waving him down by the side of the road. The men then jumped into the car, and one of them - named Daryl Ross O'Connell - pointed a gun to Clarke's head, exhorting him to drive as quickly as he could.
It has been revealed in court that O'Connell had robbed an antique store of bundles of priceless jewellery to fund his drug habit, and the getaway car they had initially used had broken down right before Clarke unwittingly stumbled across the scene.
He was forced to evade police and drive to a neighbouring town, and drop the men off at public toilets in the town. He did as instructed, and the men promptly legged it. They were later apprehended by police, and the stolen jewelry was left abandoned in the original getaway car.
Further details of the robbery emerged in court, and it wasn't exactly a delicate, Oceans 11-style heist. O'Connell entered the shop, pulled his sweatshirt over his head, pulled out a wheel brace, and smashed a number of glass cabinets. The sole employee on duty - a 72-year-old woman - yelled to him to stop, but he refused, roaring back "fuck off, or I'll hurt you".
O'Connell has been sentenced to four years and three years in prison, having amassed over 60 convictions in 30 years.
His lawyer said that O'Connell has since found God, and is turning his life around:
This is opportunistic and quite crazy offending in order to get money to fuel a raging drug habit, which he has had for many years.
He has in the past been ambivalent about rehabilitation, but says he's found Christianity and wants to make a long-term change.
[Stuff.co.nz]
