Men 'barking' behind the goalposts - U14 rugby team banned

A team of Tokoroa high schoolers have been disqualified from their rugby competition after a match that allegedly involved a headbutt and men "barking" behind the goal post. <b>By Jordan Smith of Local Democracy Reporting</b> After the Tokoroa under 14 team lost a home game on Saturday, the situation was said to be "within an inch" of turning into a full-on brawl and the atmosphere was intimidating enough for St Peter’s of Cambridge spectators to leave "as a pack". This follows a string of incidents and complaints against the team throughout the season, with referees and teams alike refusing to travel to Tokoroa due to abuse. On Saturday, a Tokoroa player ran over after the final whistle and headbutted one of the St Peter’s players, under 14 coach Simms Davison said. The Tokoroa player took a swing at the boy, then punched another player on the side of the face. Waikato Secondary Schools handed down the South Waikato team’s disqualification but could not be reached for comment, and a spokesperson for Tokoroa High School said the school could not comment. The ban is backed by council-funded Sport Waikato and their CEO Matthew Cooper who "supported organisations making tough calls". Cooper, who has previously been vocal about delivering consequences to stamp out poor behaviour, said tough decisions have to be made to ensure the correct messaging gets across. "It’s not the All Blacks, it’s not the Silver Ferns, it’s not the Warriors. This is community school sport and that should be all about the experience has to be a good one and an enjoyable one." A St Peter’s-linked witness said one of their players had overheard a Tokoroa player saying "I’m going to come and get you" before the final whistle. "Sure enough, the final whistle’s blown this boy’s just come up for no reason [and] just headbutted him. It was something that we had been expecting." Middle-aged men were barking behind the goalpost – specifically to the St Peter's goalkicker, according to Davison. "It was in plain sight for everyone to see that behaviour. It’s only an inch away from escalating into something bad and we’ve seen plenty of stabbings, people getting punched in the side of the head and getting KO’d," Davison said. The witness said spectators left "as a pack" due to the intimidating atmosphere, with Tokoroa spectators "staring them down" and calling out threats. Both the witness and Davison agreed the issue was with a small number of Tokoroa players and supporters. Davison said the captain and multiple players approached him to apologise once tensions eased. "It’s a real shame especially with a lot of those players [who] are just coming to play footy." However, the witness said if the team wasn’t disqualified, many other schools had been ready to boycott the competition with semi-finals around the corner. Referees had also been copping flak in Tokoroa, according to Davison, who played over 50 games for the Chiefs. They’d raised concerns about manning the whistle in the town before the season started, he said. During the season, refs “wouldn't go there any more” due to the severity of abuse, leading to Tokoroa playing an abnormal number of away fixtures. "That's someone that's meant to be completely neutral, that doesn't have any other family there... as far as I'm concerned, that was enough to get a team thrown out." Morrinsville College’s side had even forfeited their away game against Tokoroa after not getting a venue change to neutral ground. The Tokoroa team’s disqualification follows incidents involving other teams in the Waikato. Allegations of another under 14 rugby fracas between St John’s College and Fraser High School occurred in May, while Waikato Junior Rugby League cancelled all matches for a weekend to curb violence and abuse. <b>– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.</b>