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A First XV rugby match between two Auckland schools was called off early after a spectator allegedly ran on to the field and punched a player, sparking a brawl between the teams.
The match between Sacred Heart College and Papatoetoe High School at the weekend was called off
by referee Ben Skeen with Sacred Heart leading 58-0.
Papatoetoe High School principal Peter Gall, who was at the match, disputed that the game was called off early and also rejected any suggestion that his school's players were to blame for the incident.
"There was a bit of argy-bargy and what happened was that a person from the sideline came running on and threw a punch or two," Mr Gall said.
"Apparently he was a boy who was on the fringes of the [Sacred Heart] squad but he wasn't in [playing] uniform, that's all I know.
"I know the exact actual situation that occurred. We've got it on video. That's all I'm prepared to say at this stage.
"The referee has got the names [of the people involved] and I think it is going to be dealt with at a judicial level."
The captains and coaches of both teams have been summoned to a disciplinary hearing at the Auckland Rugby Union tonight.
Mr Gall said he had no plans to attend the hearing as "no players from our school have been cited or will be involved in the hearing".
Sacred Heart principal Jim Dale, who was also at the match, said the incident was "something and nothing" but "would concern anybody who set high standards in sport".
"It was put to bed within 10 seconds.
"We now have to go through a process with the two players involved and deal with it accordingly."
The school would wait for the outcome of tonight's hearing before it decided whether to take disciplinary action against the students involved.
"We need to be careful we don't set up a case of double jeopardy but we have got our own processes that we go through and we have to make sure that the entire process runs its course."
Mr Dale said he would attend the hearing if invited "because I saw the entire game".
Sacred Heart coach Paul Melloy and manager John Sullivan would also attend the hearing.
Auckland Rugby Union club rugby manager Mike Elliott said it would decide what action to take once it had read the referee's report and spoken to representatives from the teams involved.
A match was abandoned once or twice a year in all competitions, he said.
College Sport sport manager Mark Thompson said he could not remember another First XV game in Auckland having been called off early for fighting.
"I'm very surprised at both schools," Mr Thompson said.
"[They] both come with a pretty useful pedigree. If it was a few other schools I wouldn't be surprised at all but those two will be hugely embarrassed."
The match, which was played at Sacred Heart College on Saturday, was stopped with a couple of minutes remaining.
The Herald understands Sacred Heart will not be docked any points and the match will not be replayed as the referee blew fulltime rather than officially abandoning the game.
* Meanwhile, a Hawkes Bay rugby player is facing assault charges after an early morning incident in Napier on Sunday.
A Napier police spokesman said he understood there was an altercation at a local hotel between the partners of the two players around 2am.
"Then there was a further altercation at the home address of one of the players later that morning," he said.
As a result, one of the players has been charged with assault. One of the players' partners is facing disorderly behaviour and assault charges.
The two have been remanded on bail to appear in Napier District Court on May 30.
Hawkes Bay Rugby Union chief executive Mike Bishop said the union would hold a full investigation.
