NEWPORT Gwent Dragons star Ian Gough shoved his glamour model ex-girlfriend twice and left her close to tears while dropping of his son at her home, a court heard yesterday.

The former Wales international, 38, originally from Cwmbran, is currently fighting an appeal to overturn a conviction for assaulting former Miss Wales Sophia Cahill, who is from Pontypool.

Croydon Crown Court heard how he drove to the south London home of his ex girlfriend Ms Cahill to drop off his then two year old son on January 5 last year at the Croydon home she shared with Another Level singer Dane Bowers.

Before the star arrived in his VW Van, Ms Cahill had exchanged texts with Gough asking him where he was.

He said that he was stuck in traffic, prompting her and her then partner Mr Bowers to check online to see if he was telling the truth about the traffic.

When he finally arrived she claims that she went out in the rain to pick up her son from the car, and that she was grabbed by the shoulders and shoved by Gough twice.

Ms Cahill, 31, told the court: “I went to open the door. Ian stormed round quick enough to get me.”

She added: “He grabs me by the shoulder and flings me around."

She said Gough got the child out of the car.

She went on: “Then he grabbed me by the shoulder again and flung me out of the way again.

“I was just in shock. I felt like crying, and after I was just in shock.”

She ran back into the house and considered calling a solicitor, the court heard.

However it also emerged that she had no bruises or long term injuries as a result of the incident.

Challenged about this she said: “I was hurt enough, the reason I didn’t have bruises was because I went into the car door.”

Gough was convicted by Croydon magistrates in July last year of assault and ordered to pay £2,130 in fines and costs. He denied the charge The court heard that on December 20 last year he had applied for custody of his son.

However Ms Cahill blasted the rugby player, saying that he had posted “half naked” pictures of their son on Twitter despite an agreement that they would not mention their child on social media.

Defending Gough, John Rees QC said that she had also tweeted pictures of her son, and that she had also tweeted pictures of herself wearing very little.

He added: “We’ll talk about when it was appropriate to have pictures (of her son) next to pictures of you in provocative poses.”

Breaking down in the dock, she said: “It’s just all really, really petty. I think it’s petty because Ian has broken this as well. He’s doing the same thing it’s ridiculous.”

Mr Rees argued that it was inconceivable that Gough would have behaved violently towards his ex partner as he needed to be on his best behaviour due to the custody battle: “This is a man who was going through the court process and who would totally destroy his application with misbehaviour.”

He added, referring to the messages sent before the alleged altercation: “There’s no suggestion in any of those texts of a man who is riled.”

Proceeding.