Former Super League player Gareth Hock reportedly appears in court

Former Super League player Gareth Hock has appeared in court, per reports, for a hearing prior to his trial next month with the ex-Wigan and Leigh man having been charged with rape – a charge he has denied and pled not guilty to.

Gareth Hock was once one of Super League’s best back-rowers but now the 40-year-old has appeared at Bolton Crown Court in preparation of his trial next month where he will face prosecutors for the 12 crimes he is accused of.

News of Hock’s recent appearance (yesterday, March 28th) was first reported by Wigan Today with Hock having pled not guilty to the charges initially back in March of 2023.

The former Wigan man was charged initially with two counts of rape and five of assault causing bodily harm among 12 total charges that he has been accused of and will now face trial for next month.

Hock had initially been reprimanded in November 2022 for the lesser charges of leaving the scene of a road collision and failing to report it, but the charges of rape and assault came in early 2023.

Per Wigan Today, a 10-day trial has been scheduled to begin on April 15th during which Gareth Hock will face questioning surrounding the accused crimes after yesterday’s simple pre-trial review that confirmed the hearing will go ahead.

The ex-Wigan Warriors forward also represented Great Britain on four occasions and England five times too, before also playing for the likes of Widnes, Salford, Featherstone, Barrow and Leigh in his club career.

It was Wigan where Gareth Hock started out though with his career spanning from 2003 to 2019 when he hung up the boots, tallying up a total of 313 appearances in that 16-year career.

He made 191 appearances in the Cherry and White scoring 48 tries and he did miss a spell during his 10-year stay at the DW Stadium due to a ban which started in 2009 and ended in 2011 after testing positive for cocaine.

He returned to help Wigan to success in 2011 and 2012 before joining Widnes Vikings on loan in 2013 scoring 10 tries in 18 games, mightily impressive scoring stats for a second-rower.

Now five years out of retirement, he’s set to head to trial in just over two weeks accused of an array of crimes that could see him handed a lengthy sentence.