Blue Bulls rugby player John Mametsa will appear in court on 13 January next year to face a charge of assault.

The matter was postponed on Friday in the Hatfield Community Court as the docket was not available.

Mametsa, who plays on the right wing for the Blue Bulls, was arrested on 18 October this year.

According to earlier reports, Mametsa (27) was in Hatfield that day when he saw team-mate Fudge Mbeta and his girlfriend involved in a "minor" accident.

Mbeta's girlfriend is also the daughter of the police's national head of crime intelligence, Commissioner Raymond Lalla.

It is alleged that Mbeta reversed into a provincial traffic vehicle.

When Mametsa saw the officers man-handling Mbeta, he reportedly approached them to intervene.

A quarrel ensued, Mametsa was allegedly hit by a traffic officer and then put into the officer's vehicle.

He spent seven hours at the Brooklyn police station before he was charged with assault and released on bail of R500.