​A Bath Rugby player has been cleared of assault following an altercation after a night out in the city centre.

Full back and winger Jack Cuthbert denied the charge of assault by beating which followed an incident at the taxi rank in Orange Grove on at 3.30am on April 25.

He was cleared of the charge today after a trial at Bath Magistrates Court where evidence was heard from late-night reveller Zack Shaban, who claimed he had been assaulted by the 23-year-old in what he called an ‘unprovoked attack’.

Prosecutor Eric Waley told the court that Mr Shaban and his friend Jack Wade had been waiting at the taxi rank after a night out in Bath with two girls they had met in the Second Bridge nightclub, when Mr Cuthbert started talking to them.

Giving evidence, Mr Shaban said Mr Cuthbert, of Kensington Place, had called one of the girls ‘ugly,’ which provoked an argument between her and the rugby player.

He said: “It started getting heated so I grabbed the girl and pulled her away to try and stop the argument, so we could just leave.

“I pulled her by her waist and while that happened I heard a voice behind me saying ‘don’t you know who I am?’

“I was then grabbed by the shoulders from behind and chucked onto the floor and punched and kicked."

He continued: “I tried to get back up so I could leave the situation.

“Then he pulled my T-shirt over my head, I was chucked onto the floor again and hit another couple of times.”

But his friend Mr Wade said he had witnessed the girl behaving aggressively and had seen her start hitting or pushing Mr Cuthbert.

Mr Cuthbert, who denied insulting the girl, said she had lost her temper after somebody else had got in her taxi.

He said she began making a scene and that he had started laughing as he could not believe the way she was behaving.

He said: “She then just shouted at me ‘what the f*** are you laughing at?’

“I explained that I was on my own and I was just waiting for a taxi.”

He added: “She then came up to me a number of times and was just shouting in my face.“

Mr Cuthbert explained how she then approached him accompanied by the two friends and as he was defending himself from the girl, Mr Shaban hit him in the left eye.

He said: “We then traded a few punches, it was very much receive and give and I was acting in self-defence.

“Mr Shaban didn’t remove the young lady and she took the situation further by pushing me.

“If he had pulled the girl away I would have more than likely let it go. I had no intention to go to hit Mr Shaban and had no malicious intent at all.”

He said after a short scuffle, he broke up the fight, understanding his role as a professional sportsman.

Magistrate Jan James said the bench believed Mr Cuthbert’s version of events to be the most credible, as the injuries sustained by Mr Shaban were not consistent with the beating he claimed to have received.

She said: “We accept that the young woman was the catalyst to the situation and what happened next is disputed.

“We find Mr Cuthbert’s version of events to be more credible because Mr Shaban did not say anything about the young woman’s involvement and the injuries are not consistent with the account relayed by Mr Shaban.”

Mr Cuthbert has been named as one of the replacements for tomorrow's clash with London Irish at The Rec.