Violence linked to rugby loss

Women's refuges are calling on men to reassess their priorities after a spike in calls to domestic-violence crisis lines and a busy night for police following the Crusaders' Super 12 final loss.

Police responded to 740 emergency calls in the 12 hours from 7pm on Saturday, 518 of which came after the rugby game in Canberra. They included nine violent domestic incidents.

Otautahi Women's Refuge in Christchurch reported eight calls to its crisis line after the Brumbies win, significantly higher than the one or two calls typically received on a Saturday night.

Susan Hastings, coordinator of the Battered Women's Refuge, said there was a direct correlation between sporting losses and domestic violence.

"It's just a sport, but things can get out of hand.

"When their team takes a hit, these guys do lose it. Alcohol simply fuels the frustration, they go home and things turn pretty sour."

Inspector Bob Palmer, of the police southern communications centre, said police dealt with 90 substantial disorder matters, 67 of which followed the rugby.

"A lot of our work was dealing with ... gatecrashing and associated violence and smashing of bottles," he said.

Police snared 55 drunken drivers, attended 15 crashes, and made many arrests. More than a dozen people spent the night in Christchurch central's cells.

But communications centre manager Inspector Kieran Kortegast later downplayed a specific rugby link, saying "all Saturday nights are busy".

"There is no evidence to suggest any one factor affected call volumes over the month," he said. "It's business as usual."

Home and Family Society family counsellor Don Rowlands said domestic abusers needed to "get a life and reflect on their priorities".

"Unfortunately, a large number of men seem to invest their own self-esteem into the success of their sports team.

"I guess it's a challenge to men to find meaning in their lives beyond work and sport. It's important to find things to value within yourself, your family and your children."

Safer Christchurch coordinator Yvonne Palmer said she had observed loutish, antisocial behaviour following rugby losses for years, and felt the problem needed to be looked at more closely.

She was also concerned that vandalism seemed to surge following rugby losses.

- NZPA