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Jonathan Dixon - Source: Fairfax -
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A bouncer who hit the headlines during the Rugby World Cup says he will deny assault charges.
Queenstown bouncer Jonathan Dixon gave England's rugby captain Mike Tindall a telling off via YouTube for fooling around with his ex-girlfriend.
He has appeared in Queenstown District Court today charged with wounding with reckless disregard and causing grievous bodily harm following an incident at a Queenstown bar last Saturday morning.
He has been remanded on bail until February 13.
Dixon insists he's innocent.
The assault left bar manager Jordan Sinke in an induced coma in Dunedin Hospital, where he remains tonight.
This afternoon, Dixon's lawyer Sonia Vidal withdrew an application for name suppression.
Despite this, Dixon's name has been linked to the case in the media for the past few days.
Police did not name Dixon on Friday when they said they had arrested a 40-year-old Queenstown man in relation to the assault.
He also faced another charge of assault on a friend of Sinke.
The arrest followed a week-long investigation during which police gathered information from about a dozen witnesses who were at the Subculture Bar about 3am last Saturday.
'Hell of a week'
Jordan Sinke's father Richard Sinke said surgeons had to remove a bone flap to ease brain swelling.
His son had come out of an induced coma a day or so ago, Sinke said today.
"Thank goodness" Jordan was now definitely improving.
"It's been a hell of a week," Sinke said.
"He is recovering. We can say that at this stage."
Jordan was moved out of intensive care yesterday into a high-dependency unit.
The YouTube clip of English rugby player Tindall, the husband of the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips, was intercut with comments from Dixon.
Dixon was charged with accessing a computer system for dishonest
purposes after the appearance of the clip, which was taken at a bar
where he worked as a bouncer. He has denied the charge.
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