03:51 EDT, 22 January 2021
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A fiery text exchange between Sam Burgess and his ex-wife Phoebe has been revealed as the NRL star faces court accused of assaulting and intimidating former father-in-law Mitchell Hooke.
The messages emerged as the South Sydney Rabbitohs legend gave evidence at Moss Vale Local Court on Friday.
Burgess described how an access visit with his two children at the Hooke family home in the New South Wales Southern Highlands descended into a slanging match with Mr Hooke after the break-up of his marriage to Phoebe.
Burgess s barrister Phillip Boulten SC also claimed Mr Hooke and his daughter had used the court proceedings as part of a plan to destroy his client s career.
02:29 EDT, 22 January 2021
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Phoebe Burgess spent the day basking in the sun and relaxing by the pool with her children and sister as her ex-husband returned to court over a tense standoff with her father.
A NSW magistrate on Friday resumed a hearing over Mitch Hooke s allegation he was intimidated by the towering former South Sydney star, 32, at Mr Hooke s Southern Highlands property in October 2018.
The court has heard the argument was sparked after Burgess, who had recently separated from Mr Hooke s daughter Phoebe Burgess, came to the end of a two-hour visit at Mr Hooke s home.
But Phoebe appeared to pay little attention to the court case on Friday, as she splashed in the pool with her mother Sarah Hooke and sister Jemima Fairbanks.