Rugby boys injured after tackle

A Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter pilot said the boys were accompanied to hospital by one of their mothers.

Two 11-year-old rugby players were taken to hospital after tackling a bigger boy in Takaka today.

The inured boys, from Nelson's Wanderers Rugby Club Under 12s, were initially feared to have neck or spinal damage but their coach, Tim King, said it was less serious.

He described the two injuries as an unfortunate coincidence.

"There was nothing malicious or dangerous. It was just a case of two tackles that went slightly wrong."

He said one player had minor neck damage and would be off the field for two weeks.

The other player was concussed and would be stood down for three weeks.

King said opposing team's player was "quite large" but that was not unusual in competition.

"In a lot of our grades down here there's a big difference in sizes, particularly with our country teams.

"He's one of the bigger boys running around," he said.

Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter pilot Duncan Gourley said the boys were accompanied to hospital by one of their mothers.

One lived in Brightwater in Nelson and the other was from Richmond.

"From what I understand the other player was the right age, but it sounds like he was a bit bigger than the other kids," Gourley said.