Cracking punch

Good punch but there was no need for it. The other guy looks hammered and wasn't exactly attacking him.

Looking at the video, it is hard to see why the police bothered to get involved in this. Slap from one guy, with a punch in retaliation.

Slater over-reacts in my opinion and should have walked away, but if you do slap/push someone in the face outside a club you have to expect a smack back, so no sympathy for the other guy.

There was a woman behind the other guy that he knocks over into the road as he falls back - so it could have been a hell of a lot worse for Slater.

I agree... it was hardly 'affray' either in my opinion... more like common assault. I've seen my local cops ignore far worse than this.

Billy Slater was 100% justified in his reaction to an unprovoked assault. He had been gently remonstrating with the offender about getting through the line, and the vicious hooligan responded by smacking Billy in the face. Billy's reaction showed that you don't attack a nice young Australian gentleman in this way and expect to get off scot free. Billy Slater's punch was pointed and decisive. One is left wondering though whether the cut near Billy Slater's eye was caused by this hooligan's assault, and was therefore inches away from causing serious damage to Billy Slater's eye.

Billy Slater has chosen not to press charges, but Manchester police are holding the 40 year old offender (no word yet whether he is Irish or just an Irish sympathiser). The Manchester police need to interrogate fully, and look into the background of the 40 year old offender, to see if there is a criminal record in his past.

If John Prescott was defending himself then Slater must be too. I don't think the numpty who pushed him in the face will be doing it again any time soon, he got what he deserved, and, lucky for him, no more.

There is no suggestion that Slater broke any ban and the Aussies are over here for 2 months so to suggest they abstain totally from any beer is faintly dotty. It's a rugby tour, and as long as they stay within the bounds their team managers set, why the hell shouldn't they go oyt and enjoy themselves?

As for the experts on alcohol's effects (I haven't seen their detailed logs of what Slater had had to drink) if Australia's record is the yardstick and if they do go out on the razz, then maybe it is something England should be doing more not less, as it has obviously led to decades of woeful rugby failure for the Kangaroos, and does at least explain why the likes of Slater, Inglis, Thurston & Co. have performed so badly at the top level for so long.

Billy Slater's press conference showed him to be a thoughtful, measured and decent young man. He is still a good role model for the rugby league playing and following youth of the world.

From the CCTV i'd suggest that the Australian camp and Slater himself have done extremely well in playing down this incident. In very few circumstances is it acceptable for someone to throw the punch that Slater threw in that incident. Hardly self-defence as he wasn't being attacked from all angles or in any significant danger from that fool who slapped him, baring in mind he probably had numerous professional athletes and bouncers (who appear in the footage) with/around him.

If this was anyone of significant prominence in UK society, i'd dare say he'd have been condemned for a total over reaction with some fairly serious repercussions.

Well done the Aussie PR team.

Apparently the Manchester police disagree with you.

Good punch, I think he had reason to hit him IMO.I don't think the police should of bothered with this

Neither punch was exactly Mike Tyson style was it.
The guy is obviously being aggressive to the people around him and hits out at Slater in the face. Slater hits him back.
I'd say for the guy to stagger like that he is drunk.

Slater is lucky the guy didn't hit the floor as often that's what turns it into something way more serious but I think he had every right to "reply".
He didn't follow up or have a further issue with the guy once he got him away from him.

No more to be done with this in my opinion.
He needs to be careful where he goes drinking I guess.

A non-story really; Slater did what anyone would do in that situation by defending himself against an assault - he didn't use unreasonable force or follow up with any malice.

I'm baffled that some people are comparing this to the England players situation; unless Billy the Kid was a) on a curfew and b) fails to turn up to his next scheduled training session, the two situations are entirely different.

Would you have no sympathy for someone who is run over by a bus? After all, if they hadn't left their house they wouldn't be in that situation.....

No fan of Slater and his snide wind up ways on the field, as a player though awesome. In this situation I think Slater is fully justified, I reckon I good majority of men would have done the exact same.

I'm a lover not a fighter so would probably not have punched him, but good on BS for not taking any crap