Rugby brawl: No action against parents

"An incident occurred that started on the field and then I believe spectators got involved but I don't know the extent of it," Auckland Rugby spokeswoman Libby Gudmundsson said. Photo / Thinkstock

No action will be taken against the parents involved in an on-field tussle which resulted in the suspension of a children's rugby game.

The under-8s match in Auckland, played by teams from the Ponsonby and Waitemata rugby clubs, came to an end minutes before fulltime after a parent allegedly took to the field and lifted another child off his son.

A parent of the opposing team then entered the field and yelled at the man to stop touching his son. It is understood other parents came onto the field and an altercation followed.

The incident is thought to have taken place at Coxs Bay in upmarket Westmere.

The Auckland Rugby Union held meetings yesterday and everyone involved in the incident was spoken to, Waitemata club chairman Mark Mallabar said.

No formal complaints had been laid, so there would be no further action.

"[The issue] has been worked through and both parties, coaches and managers of the junior section were reminded of their responsibilities by newsletter as well as on site by their respective captains," Mr Mallabar said.

"The Auckland Rugby Union never received a formal complaint ... so it just needed a bit of holding your breath and working it through. That was all that was required."

Mr Mallabar said similar incidences took place across the country and across all sports.
"It happens in every sporting group, maybe not every day but it happens around New Zealand. All it means is that some adult has overstepped their common sense and people have reacted to that reaction," he said.

"It was not a major. There wasn't any punches thrown. It is something that you just shrug your shoulders afterwards and think, 'How did you do that, you are 49 years of age?' It happens."

Mr Mallabar said it would be business as usual following the meetings for the rugby clubs involved.

"Everything will carry on. This is not the first time and it won't be the last time. It has happened ever since people did sporting events and it is just the nature of people," he said.

"I am sure that the parents who stepped over the boundaries would be looking at themselves and asking 'Why did I do that?' I would be asking myself 'Why did I have to go over and escalate the situation?'

"All that you had to do was go over to the referee and say, 'Hey look, this happened to my son so I am going to take him off the paddock'."

The Rugby Union and the clubs involved were applauded by The Parenting Place for the way the situation was handled.

The organisation said the incident showed how seriously referees and clubs took angry, aggressive behaviour.

John Cowan of The Parenting Place said some parents needed to adjust their attitudes while on the sideline at sporting events.

"The usual passion that gets a parent running on to the field and aggressively challenging others is actually a good passion, a desire to defend your child.

"When parents realise that their actions actually work against their child, it embarrasses them and interferes with their game, they will work on their angry behaviour."