A veteran Northland rugby coach and referee fed up with the never-ending abuse of whistle blowers and players is quitting the sport.
Former Hikurangi policeman and current Whangārei District Councillor Gavin Benney is stepping away from all rugby at the end of this year, after 50 years, but not beforestarting a conversation about the abuse of referees and players at the grassroots level.
"I want to use the small profile I have to make people stop. I just want people to think about sport and watch it with a smile on their face and respect all those who contribute to it.
"And at the end of the game, have a beer with your mates and the opposition and then go and do it all again next week," Benney said.
Benney said he was abused after a premier club rugby match in Whangārei two weeks ago which affected him more than he could imagine.
"In the last few weeks I have been accused of so many things and seen so many poisonous people fighting over club rugby in Northland. It was the final straw."
During his time refereeing, Benney said he had been called a cheat and other hateful things so many times by "bitter, twisted people" that ''lived their failures through club rugby''.
He said it was a sad indictment on the game that a group which he was a part of set up sideline behaviour protocols at kids' rugby and tried to do the same at senior level.
Gavin Benney running the touchlines during a club match between Kamo and Hikurangi.
Photo/Michael Cunningham
An Old Boys' stalwart, Benney helped Cam Goodhue coach Kamo for the past two years but his haters have now got him.
This year, because of complaints from the "same people" about the standard of refereeing, Benney and referees Boris Jurlina and Llew Smart decided to upskill referees and coaches.
"Northland is such a small place to worry about conflicts of interest. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter who wins. It's club rugby,'' Benney said.
"A lot of junior refs don't have the ability to deal with abuse and it also wears down senior refs. It's a massive issue in relation to the recruitment and retention of referees in Northland."
Benney said the situation has not changed since he started playing rugby at the age of 4.
Rugby or any sport, he said, was a fun game and did not define who you were as a person.
"We should take our cue from American sports ... NBA and baseball games. At the end these games, the results stand. Whatever influence umpires have on the game is gone. There's no abuse of umpires," Benney said.
"People should view rugby or any sport for what it is— a way for us to keep fit and healthy and to enjoy interaction with our mates," he said.
Northland Rugby Union operations' manager Kyal Collins said abuse from the sidelines was one of the reasons clubs and coaches signed a code of conduct.
"We lose referees every year and also struggle to attract new ones and that's one of the reasons why. Spectators and coaches have higher expectations than what volunteers can deliver on the field."
Collins, a referee himself, said referees travelled every week for hours to volunteer for a sport they loved and did not deserve to be abused.
He said the union constantly strived to improve behaviour on the sidelines and dealt with abuse through its judicial conduct system as required by New Zealand Rugby rules.
