Damian Horan

A rugby player who sued an opponent over a " revenge" tackle, that left her with a permanent spinal injury, has won a compensation case at The High Court.

Reading Sirens flanker Dani Czernuszka is now paraplegic and will need to use a wheelchair for The rest of her life.

The defendant, Bracknell captain Natasha King , vowed to " break her" during The Match in 2017, The Court heard.

Ms Czernuszka's lawyers said She could expect a payout of about £10m.

The mother-of-two, then aged 28, was playing her first competitive game when She was injured on 8 October 2017.

As Reading began to dominate The Match , Ms King urged her teammates to " smash The Number 7" referring to Ms Czernuszka, The High Court heard.

Towards The End , The defendant was winded and " humiliated" when She tried to tackle The claimant, The Court was told.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Martin Spencer said Ms King had been " looking for an opportunity to get her revenge on The claimant - The Red Mist had metaphorically descended".

Ms King, The Court heard, announced: " That [swearword] number 7, I'm going to break her. "

Three minutes later, She executed a " belly flop" throwing her full 16-17 stone (102-108 kg) weight on to Ms Czernuszka, while pulling her legs, The Court heard.

Mr Justice Spencer continued: " The defendant simply gets up and walks away towards her own try line - She shows no concern for The claimant whatsoever.

" These actions are not those of a responsible rugby player. In my opinion, it was a reckless and dangerous act and fell below an acceptable standard of Fair Play . "

Following The Judgement , Ms Czernuszka, said: " I Am grateful For Today 's ruling and to finally put to bed all of The untruths and fabrications surrounding What Happened during The Game That Day .

" Learning To Live with my life-changing injuries has been difficult and something I could not have done without The support of My Family and Close Friends .

" Sport has always given me great pleasure in life, and I don't blame The Game of rugby for What Happened That Day .

" Ultimately, I feel I was let down by improper and poor behaviour from The opposing player, coaching staff and The referee. "

Her solicitor Damian Horan said: " This case is a timely reminder that a player's actions on The Pitch never stay on The Pitch and can have catastrophic consequences. "

Ms King has 21 Days to seek permission to appeal.

Source of news: bbc.com