Rory Best believes he was ‘pawn’ in Belfast rape trial
Rory Best has said he regrets his appearance at the Belfast rape trial, believing he became “a pawn” in the case.
The then-Ireland captain attended the trial on the first day of testimony by the young woman at the centre of the allegations.
Mr Best’s teammates, Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, were among the accused in the trial. They were subsequently acquitted of all charges.
“It was never, ever my intention to cause any more distress in what was a very, very difficult day for that poor girl,” he said in an interview on Off The Ball.
Coverage of Mr Best’s appearance alongside Ireland teammate Iain Henderson, which came days before Ireland began their 2018 Six Nations campaign, caused Judge Patricia Smyth to later tell the jury “the only reason he was in court was because he was directed to be here by senior counsel”.
Mr Best said he had been asked to appear as a character witness for Mr Jackson and attended the trial “not as Ireland captain” but “as a friend” to decide whether he wanted to testify.
The defence team subsequently decided not to call on Mr Best after the “circus” caused by his appearance.
He says now he was “unbelievably naive” to think he could disassociate his status as Ireland captain from his attendance at the trial.
I can assure you that that was never my intention. I didn’t think of it at the time. Ultimately, I’m a trusting person. I look back now and I do think that I was used.
“It suited the [defence] to have me there. I think I became a pawn in it.”
Not seeking his own independent legal advice was a mistake, said Mr Best, who has now retired from playing rugby. “I know now in hindsight that was wrong. I shouldn’t have been there.
“My benefit or detriment was irrelevant to it but it turned it into a circus and it put a lot more pressure onto something that was very sensitive. That’s definitely the thing that I regret the most, to turn a magnifying glass on it like that.”
Mr Best deleted his Twitter account at the time but said those involved couldn’t escape as easily.
“I’m far from a victim in this, compared to the other five people who were directly involved in it.
“For me, the toughest thing to take was some of the social media stuff... but you delete Twitter and you can kind of get away from it.
“For the other five people who were involved in it, it wasn’t that straightforward: they’re trying to rebuild their lives now in various shapes and forms. I think that’s probably the most important thing for me to emphasise.”
