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A young Ospreys and Wales winger left a man bleeding and with a chipped tooth after punching him in a nightclub.

Ben Cambriani, 20, missed out on touring the southern hemisphere with Wales Sevens side after the attack in which a judge said he behaved “like a yob”.

Swansea Crown Court heard on Wednesday how the Wales under-18 international threw a punch at Oliver Clare while the pair were both on nights out in Fiction nightclub in Swansea on January 31 last year.

Mr Claire was left with a bleeding nose and a chipped tooth following the assault, the latter of which required dental repair.

The court heard Cambriani had been out with friends, two of whom had joined Mr Clare on the dancefloor, in the early hours.

Prosecutor Sophie Hill said: “Two men began dancing with the complainant and he described them as ‘erotically’ grabbing his T-shirt and exposed his chest.

“He took it as a joke but grew tired of it and told them it was enough and to leave it out.

“But they continued before leaving to join their friends, one of whom included the defendant.”

Seconds later Mr Clare said he felt a blow to his mouth. Cambriani was then said to have continued to try and hit Mr Clare although there was no suggestion he had made further contact.

Ms Hill said: “The defendant was escorted by bouncers to a room in the club and the defendant offered to pay money to them to let him go. This was refused by the bouncers.”

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She added Cambriani had claimed Mr Clare had been making homophobic suggestions and he had acted in self-defence.

Mitigating, John Hipkin said Cambriani had instructed him to apologise to Mr Clare for his actions that night and added: “He has what can neutrally be described as a promising sporting career which this has substantially dented.

“He has made full disclosures to his employers and his contract is safe but he has been required by internal discipline to carry out community action which he will do enthusiastically.

“He was not able to undertake a tour of the southern hemisphere [with the Wales Sevens side] as a result of this.”

Sentencing, Judge Niclas Parry said: “Your behaviour was like a yob – not an athlete contracted to play for a rugby club and then your country.

“You let yourself down and everyone who has supported you to achieve that. You did that because you could not hold your drink.”

Judge Parry said the offence was aggravated by it having taken place in a busy licenced premises and the fact he was heavily intoxicated.

But he added: “In mitigation it is obvious you have no previous convictions, you acted out of character, it was one punch, and you are still young.

“I bear in mind what you have suffered including losing the honour of going on tour.”

Cambriani, of William Gammon Drive in Mumbles, had pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm when the case came before magistrates but had changed his plea to guilty at an earlier trial preparation hearing at the crown court.

He was sentenced to four months in custody, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work as well as pay Mr Clare £1,000 compensation. He must also pay a surcharge.

Judge Parry added: “Go back to being the achieving young man you are and put this behind you.”

Following the hearing a spokesman for the Ospreys said: “The Ospreys respect the judgement of the court and after conducting our own internal investigations into the matter have concluded the punishment dispensed by the court is sufficient.

“We take incidents like this seriously and Ben Cambriani has shown genuine remorse for this out of character incident and the Ospreys will be offering him any support he requires.

“He will be undertaking voluntary work with the Ospreys community department.”