A nasty brawl showing students from the school's rugby league teams being knocked down and attacked while on the ground has been caught on camera. Video / Supplied
An Auckland high school student has been filmed punching another teenager from behind in a nasty attack that triggered a mass brawl between rival school sports teams.
Otahuhu College principal Neil Watson said the students involved had “brought embarrassment to our school”, while One Tree Hill College acting principal Emma Beale said staff were taking the fight “very seriously”.
Video shows the shirtless student, believed to be from Otahuhu College, knocking the other teenager onto a concrete road with a swinging punch the injured student didn’t see coming.
The punched student, believed to be from One Tree Hill College, is then further attacked by what appears to be three Otahuhu students.
Police said they are aware of the fight, alleged to have occurred on Wednesday afternoon.
“There will be a visible police presence in the area this afternoon when school finishes, including patrols at the nearby train station and at the school gates,” police said.
“At this stage, no one has been arrested over the incident, but we will continue to make inquiries.”
One Tree Hill College had earlier in the day hosted the Otahuhu players in a rugby league game on its sports ground.
However, the Herald understands the match referee ended the game early because of on-field fights between the teams.
That animosity then spread off the field, with the two teams coming together in further fights on a road within One Tree Hill College’s grounds.
At the start of the video, the One Tree Hill College student - who was hit by what anti-violence campaigners sometimes call a “coward punch” - can be seen shaping up for a fight with another student.
However, he and the other student are pulled apart just moments before the shirtless student runs in from behind and hits the One Tree student, sparking the mass brawl.
Scores of students can be seen gathered, watching the melee.
A One Tree Hill College student who was earlier knocked onto the ground by a punch is attacked by other students. Photo / Supplied
Some film the fight but others, including a number of brave female students, try to break it up and protect the injured.
The melee lasts up to 40 seconds before adults can be seen separating the teams and trying to restore order.
Otahuhu College’s Watson assured parents and the community his school would take “the necessary disciplinary action”.
“The action of our students cannot be condoned or accepted under any circumstances and has brought embarrassment to our school, our students, and the wider community,” he said.
“This incident cast a shadow over the large number of sporting fixtures, competed fiercely, but fairly, amongst schools each week.”
He said Otahuhu College has an obligation to protect students in its care, as well as those it competes against.
It also has an obligation to be “transparent and honest” when anybody associated with the school “oversteps the boundaries of what is viewed as acceptable conduct and behaviour”.
As many as 20 students were involved in the melee. Photo / Supplied
“We are an educational institution and need to be impeccable in terms of the standards and example we set for our students,” he said.
“It is within this context that I want to assure you that the necessary disciplinary action will be taken with relevant consequences for those involved.”
Otahuhu College’s management team and coaches will be reviewing the school’s actions actions and spectator code of conduct to “ensure that going forward all parties act within the spirit of what school sport is all about”.
“Sport is about having fun, healthy competition and creating lifelong friendships,” he said.
Beale from One Tree Hill College said her school shared concerns over the fight and “are investigating what is a very complex event”.
“We are in close contact with the other school and the police as we carry out our investigation and work through our processes to support students and parents,” she said.
“At this stage I am not in a position to provide further details – but we take this very seriously and absolutely do not condone any sort of violence.”
