Mass fight at rugby derby will be probed

WELSH Rugby Union disciplinary chiefs are set to investigate a huge brawl at Cambrian Welfare RFC on Saturday which saw four players red-carded in their local derby with Treorchy.

The clash at Cambrian was a top versus bottom meeting in Division One East Central and was seemingly passing by without incident, before fists and boots suddenly started flying in a shocking second-half melee.

The footage was captured on video and has started to do the rounds on social media.

Once the brawl subsided the referee issued red cards to two players from each side, but it could well have easily been more due to the level of participation.

Division One East Central leaders Treorchy, who were once among the big guns of the Welsh game in the 1990s and the subject of a BBC documentary titled The Dream, have held initial talks on what went on at Welfare Park and will probe the matter further.

And Cambrian secretary Stephen Thomas confirmed his club will be holding a meeting tonight to investigate events on Saturday afternoon.

Treorchy won the game 16-10 to hold a seven-point cushion over Rhydyfelin at the top of the table.

But their chairman Andrew Jones said he was “hugely disappointed” with what he saw and plans to hold more talks once the referee’s report has gone in to the WRU.

“We spoke about it most of the evening,” said Jones. “It was hugely disappointing from our perspective to put it mildly.

“We’re aware of the video footage flying around and it really wasn’t that sort of game. It was a one-off flare-up and there were no cards issued by the referee up to that point.

“The four red cards came from that one incident. It was a tough game and that flare-up near the end wasn’t a reflection of what went on beforehand.

“It was played in a good spirit and that’s what made it all the more disappointing. I don’t want our club to get themselves involved in anything like that. We certainly don’t condone that.

“I will be interested to see the referee’s report and see what he saw. It was something of nothing that just escalated.

“But certainly I will be speaking to our secretary and once the referee’s report comes in we’ll get together to decide what happens from there.

“A lot of people will come to their own conclusions anyway from the video footage. We’ve already had people from all sorts of clubs emailing us with the footage.”

WRU disciplinary bosses will hold their own probe into the local derby between two clubs.