Fight erupts between players, spectators

Violence at a Wellington club rugby match during the weekend, which may have been sparked by a racial slur yelled from the sidelines, was among the worst a witness has seen in 10 years of reporting on the sport.

A fight, involving players and spectators, broke out in the last minutes of the Jack Lamason Memorial Cup match between Marist St Pats and Old Boys’ University at Wellington College on Saturday afternoon.

Wellington Rugby Football Union chief executive Matt Evans said staff at the organisation were rewatching video footage of the game to work out exactly what had happened. But it appeared that the fight started after Old Boys’ University fans spilled on to the field behind the goalposts when their team scored the winning try. A Marist St Pats player ran over to the group and a tussle began.

The camera, which was being used to capture the game for coaches and professional rugby scouts, did not record audio of the fracas. However, Evans had been told that one of the spectators may have directed ‘‘a racist taunt’’ at a player. He said the union would discipline those involved as soon as possible. A judicial hearing is planned for tomorrow or Thursday. Any spectators found to have taken part may be banned.

‘‘We’re moving heaven and earth to make sure we get a robust disciplinary

process up and running. It’s really important that we send a strong message.’’

The fight came after Marist St Pats Rugby Football Club was banned for three years from entering a men’s team into a Wellington sevens tournament after three of its players were found to have attacked a Petone player last November, leaving him with severe facial injuries and unable to work.

Evans said Saturday’s incident ‘‘goes right to the heart of the clubs and the cultures they’re trying to instil’’.

‘‘If they’re prepared to turn a blind eye and tolerate these things, maybe things are out of whack.’’

Adam Julian was working on a radio broadcast from the pavilion when he saw a Marist St Pats player leave the field and approach a group of Old Boys’ University spectators. ‘‘Pushing, shoving, shouting’’ ensued, he said.

‘‘There was a whole mass of people that came together in and around the field. It all happened in a blur,’’ he said.

‘‘It is very fortunate that no-one got hurt. There were a few people trying to break it up.’’

He said the behaviour, along with other on-field incidents he’d heard about at other Wellington club rugby matches over the weekend, was some of the most shocking he’d witnessed while working as a sports journalist for a decade.

‘‘We don’t go to watch people fight. If you think that behaviour is acceptable, then you’re wrong. It’s farcical.’’

Julian said the fight broke up ‘‘organically’’. Players then left the field for the changing rooms.