Rugby star's touch judge assault probe

Matua Parkinson. Photo / Doug Sherring

A world championship-winning New Zealand sevens captain is under investigation after allegedly assaulting a touch judge.

Matua Parkinson, 36, allegedly swore at stand-in linesman Ben Brooks before pulling his shorts down at a club rugby match in the Bay of Plenty.

Parkinson, elected a member of the Bay of Plenty District Health Board last year, missed out on a seat on Tauranga City Council but has been lined up for bigger things. Last year Phil Goff reportedly tried to lure Parkinson to stand as a Labour MP.

Parkinson will appear before a Bay of Plenty Rugby Union disciplinary tribunal headed by District Court Judge Paul Geoghegan.

The alleged "down-trou" took place while Parkinson watched his club side Rangataua lose 7-32 to fierce rivals Te Puke.

Parkinson, who was injured, had been acting like a class clown, witnesses said.

He allegedly called Brooks "fresh meat" before downtrou-ing him.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board chairwoman Sally Webb said: "They are only allegations and until such time as the process which the rugby union are taking Matua through has been completed, it would be inappropriate to comment."

Brooks, who was left "shocked and upset" by the incident, had only agreed to officiate at the game after the original appointee failed to show.

He is considering laying a complaint with police about the incident after it has been investigated by the BOP rugby union, said Auckland Rugby Referees Association manager Greg Watson.

Watson said it was "inexcusable" and they would be supporting Brooks through the disciplinary process.

"Idiots come from all walks of life," said Watson. "In the majority of cases they are people on the sidelines who are ignorant and ill-informed of the laws of the game. It sounds like he was behaving like a class clown."

The disciplinary tribunal has the power to impose lifetime bans on players who abuse referees.

Te Puke club president Ashley Peats, who also laid a complaint with the rugby union, said he was disgusted by the behaviour. "It's definitely not on," he said.

"It was bordering on physical assault. Parkinson is a hard nut but he's been living on the edge of the game's laws for a long time."

Parkinson admitted there had been abusive language at the game but denied it was directed at the linesman, when the Herald on Sunday approached him at his Tauranga home on Friday.

He denied downtrou-ing Brooks. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

On his Facebook page, the married father-of-three said: "I don't mind getting into the rough & tumble of politics but as I see it you get greater success by playing the ball and not the man."

Pitch battles

March 2010: Former Kiwis rugby league player Tea Ropati received a two-year suspension for throwing a water bottle at a referee, which was overturned on appeal. Ropati was an assistant coach at rugby league club Mangere East.

July 2010: Former Warriors star Tony Tuimavave received a warning after being found guilty of abusing a touch judge. He said it was an accident.

April 2011: Petone Rugby Football Club player Savelio Sagato was given a life ban after punching a referee in the face while getting a red card for head-butting an opponent.