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The father of a junior rugby player is laying a formal complaint with police, alleging a woman punched his 10-year-old son on the field.
Andrew Broderick, 39, and his son, Jacob, a Hastings West age-group player, claim the woman ran on to Elwood Park, Hastings, on Saturday and
threw a half-full baby's milk bottle at the boy's head before punching him and unleashing a string of swearwords.
The incident appeared to have been sparked by what was described as "a bit of push and shove" between Jacob and another player - and inflamed by a call of "smash him" from the sideline.
Spectators said a man ran on to the field toward the end of the match between Hastings East and Napier West and grabbed the woman to restrain her.
"When she came off the field she kept rambling on about Jacob's size, saying 'look at the size of him, he isn't the right age'," Mr Broderick said, adding that he told the woman she had just struck his son who was actually the second youngest player in the team.
The woman's partner had then approached and Mr Broderick pulled back as other spectators tried to restore order.
"I didn't want any trouble," he said.
He later phoned Hastings police and was asked to lodge a formal complaint today. He took Jacob to the doctor, who checked him for concussion and issued a medical report for the police. Jacob said he did not feel too bad.
Hastings East coach Glenn Lindsay and his Napier West counterpart, Tim Combs, declined to comment, saying the matter would go before a Hawke's Bay Sub-union judiciary today.
Hastings West assistant coach and referee Jamie Wairau abandoned the match with about 10 minutes left, with Hastings 26-0 ahead.
"I think it's a bit of a disgrace for my 10-year-old son to be assaulted at a rugby game," Mr Broderick said.
"If there's an issue on the field it should be dealt with by the ref. Besides, the kids had resolved the matter themselves."
Jacob, a No. 8 for his side, said he had kneed his opponent during a tackle and the Napier West player got up and pushed him, so he pushed him back. The pair then walked away.
"I was walking back when he jabbed me four times.
"So I turned around and hit him once on the jaw with a right and he fell down," the St Joseph's School Year 6 pupil said.
Jacob said seconds later he felt a thud on his head as the bottle hit him and he turned to see the woman saying "come here, you". "She punched me and I ducked and then the second one caught me on the right side of my head."
Some spectators denounced the behaviour of adults on the sidelines as a "total disgrace and not called for". One said it was an offence to hit a child at home yet someone had attacked another person's child in public on Saturday.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY