The introduction of a blanket ban on gang patches in rugby clubrooms across Northland will bring relief to players and spectators alike, but questions remain over whether the jurisdiction of a ban can be extended beyond the clubrooms' front doors.
"It's club colours at after-matches, not gang colours," Northland RugbyUnion chief executive Jeremy Parkinson said.
"We've now got a rule that there are no gang patches in rugby clubs, so that will form part of our Code of Ethics," he added of the NRU's response to a suggested ban laid forth in a recent review of the Southern Districts Division Two competition.
Despite this, the NRU's jurisdiction to enforce the ruling doesn't extend to rugby fields and grounds in public domains.
"If clubs own their own grounds, then they can enforce that rule as well.
"But obviously there's no bylaws across the various districts these teams play in where gang patches cannot be worn.
"For example, Tomarata own their own grounds so they can enforce that rule to their field and their grounds ... [but] the majority of other clubs around Northland own their clubrooms on peppercorn leases on council grounds."
In the meantime, Whangaruru's Hepi Haika said his club is happy to oblige with NRU's recent addition to the Code of Ethics, and that his players involved with the Head Hunters gang will leave their patches at home or in the car.
"They have to if they want to play for me, that's for sure," Haika said.
"I'm very well respected in my position as coach.
"Before it even came to the result of our meeting yesterday [Monday], I had made a ban with my players and told the guys that play for me [who are] in the gang they're not to wear their gear in our trainings or games, and we're working towards getting a uniform for them to wear instead of their own gear."
Reiterating the new ruling on bans in clubrooms is a giant leap forward. Parkinson says "that will become a blanket policy throughout the whole of Northland, with no gang patches within rugby clubs. We're here to promote rugby and we want clubs wearing their rugby colours and polos at after-match functions.
