A violent altercation occurred between parents and youth rugby players in Hamilton last Saturday. Photo / Dominico Zapata
A violent altercation occurred between parents and youth rugby players in Hamilton last Saturday. Photo / Dominico Zapata
Parents punched two children and put another in a headlock at an under 14 school rugby match between two leading Hamilton high schools, a witness says.
The sideline fracas at a St John’s College and Fraser High School match on council-owned fields on Saturday left one player with a blackeye and is being probed by police.
It appears to be the catalyst for a generic warning about shoddy sideline behaviour by the Waikato Rugby Union days later, but which came without any specific mention of the scale of the incident, schools involved or the fact that children were injured.
“Team sport is a great thing for our society and for our community... older people just need to butt out and let kids play the game and enjoy the game.”
The witness said two Fraser High School parents assaulted three St John’s College players. Photo / Christel Yardley
“We do feel some responsibility for it as well... we certainly offer our vocal support for anyone who is trying to clamp down on this type of behaviour.”
Both schools did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday, but a St John’s-linked witness to the altercation said tensions between the teams arose after the referee disallowed a try.
The match was then paused just before the final whistle by both coaches to calm things down between the players, but the agro started up again.
“Pushing and shoving” ensued between players, which was when a player was headlocked by a parent from the opposing side, the witness said.
Two further players were punched by parents, according to the witness. One player sustained a black eye while the other two were “roughed up”.
A police spokesperson said: “Police’s School Community Officers are aware of the report and working with the schools involved”.
Waikato Rugby was approached for comment on why the incident wasn’t made public in their earlier warning and what consequences could follow for those involved.
Amy Marfell said the decision for sanction belongs with the schools themselves. Photo / Christel Yardley
“Waikato Rugby are not responsible for the running of the secondary school rugby competition - this is overseen and run by a secondary school governance group and as a result, the incident is being dealt with through the appropriate channels, which are the schools themselves,” Waikato Rugby’s chief executive Amy Marfell said.
“Waikato Rugby do not publicise any sanctionable incidents that occur in the competitions that we run, these are dealt with by appropriate judiciary processes and we expect that this instance would be dealt with by the schools and the governance group under their own processes for breaches of the rules.”
“It is important that this incident and all incidents of this type are dealt with appropriately to ensure the safety of all participants, coaches, volunteers and spectators in the game.”
“Waikato Rugby has a clear position on this type of behaviour, which we have articulated, and we will work with any school or club to support them to deal with these matters.”
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
