The rugby player admitted assault and applied for a discharge without conviction at the Blenheim District Court on Monday.

A professional rugby player who punched a man several times in the head says an assault conviction could hurt his rugby career.

He was driving through Marlborough with a friend when they spotted a man pulling the finger at them.

The man had assaulted the rugby star in a previous altercation and was convicted of assault with intent to injure.

The rugby player and his friend still harboured a grudge and after recognising the man, turned the car around to confront him, a police summary of facts said.

The man jumped two fences across a paddock to get away, but he was chased by the two men.

The rugby player punched the man in the side of the head several times, until the man grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head to make him stop.

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He said there was a courier driver parked nearby watching, so the men left.

The man later went to Wairau Hospital, in Blenheim, for medical treatment, claiming he had been hit by a hammer. This was later found to be untrue.

The rugby player admitted assault and applied for a discharge without conviction at the Blenheim District Court on Monday.

He is one of several rugby players to ask for a discharge without conviction to protect their career in recent years.

Former Wellington Lions player Losi Filipo​ knocked a man unconscious and stomped his head about four times in central Wellington in 2015.

He was discharged without conviction, but police successfully appealed the sentence and Filipo was convicted and sentenced to nine months' supervision, with conditions to do alcohol counselling and a course on living without violence.

Blues player George Moala was granted a discharge without conviction in 2015 after he was found guilty of assault with intent to injure during a boozy late-night brawl.

Blues player Tevita Li was discharged without conviction for drink-driving in 2015.

Lawyer Rob Harrison said in court on Monday a conviction would prevent his client's rugby club from renewing his contract.

Judge Stephen Harrop said he had no evidence from the rugby union that there would be a direct effect on the man's career.

"At the moment the effect is uncertain. You've submitted that his future with the union would not continue, but what [the union is] saying is it would put his contract under review," Judge Harrop said.

"I want to give [him] the opportunity to get that affidavit, because without it I've got a situation where the consequences of a conviction are not at all clear."

Judge Harrop remanded the man at large to March 23 for another discharge without conviction hearing.

Players who have avoided convictions

May 2015 - Blues player George Moala escapes conviction for his part in a boozy late-night brawl. Moala and his brother were jointly charged with assault with intent to cause injury and common assault following a fight which left a man in hospital. Judge Rob Ronayne found the impact of a conviction on Moala and the possibility he could lose his career outweighed the severity of the crime.

January 2015 - Blues player Tevita Li is discharged without conviction for driving with excess blood alcohol. The test revealed he had a reading of 45 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. Judge Andree Wiltens said Li had a "stellar" career that could lead to a place in the All Blacks, and a conviction could jeopardise that.

December 2014 - Dunedin rep rugby player Riley Tane McDowall avoids conviction after breaking a man's jaw. Judge Kevin Phillips said a conviction would end any possibility of a professional rugby career.

August 2014 - Rising netball star Sheridan Te Aorere Bignall is granted a discharge without conviction for defrauding StudyLink of $891 in allowance money she was not entitled to. Her lawyer successfully argued there was a realistic chance she could be asked to represent New Zealand overseas in the future and a dishonesty conviction would make it difficult to enter other countries.

August 2011 - Cancer-stricken former Blues player Kurtis Haiu is discharged without conviction after pleading guilty to possessing an offensive weapon and assaulting a property developer. Judge Gerard Winter said he was a role model in rugby, his battle with bone cancer and in accepting responsibility for his actions.

May 2010 - Young Waikato rugby player Bampino Vaa Mulipola is discharged without conviction on charges relating to an incident in which he cut another man's hand with a machete. Judge Melanie Harland said it was "a very narrow call" but a conviction would have real consequences to his potential rugby career.

December 2004 - An All Black receives a discharge without conviction after pleading guilty to assaulting his wife. He is granted permanent name suppression.