Kids punched and headlocked by sideline parents at U14 school rugby game

Thursday, 14 May 2026

Parents punched two children and put another in a headlock at an under 14 school rugby match between two leading Hamilton high schools.

The shocking sideline fracas at a St John’s College and Fraser High School match on Saturday left one player with a black eye and is being probed by police.

It appears to be the catalyst for a generic warning about shoddy sideline behaviour by the Waikato Rugby Union days later, but which came without any specific mention of the scale of the incident, schools involved or the fact that children were injured.

Both schools did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday, but a St John’s linked witness to the altercation told the Waikato Times problems began when a Fraser parent ran onto the field patting the back of a Fraser player as he went to score a try.

As a result it was disallowed by the referee, sparking animosity.

Following that, the last minutes of the game saw Fraser players distributing “reasonably dirty play” to any runs made by St John’s players, said the witness, including “high tackles” or “extra attention on the ground.” This led to comments “backwards and forwards” from both sidelines.

The match was then paused just before the final whistle by both coaches to calm things down between the players, but the agro started up again.

As Fraser kicked the ball out to win the game, a St John’s player went to charge it down and landed in front of the kicker.

“Pushing and shoving” ensued between players, which was when the kick-charge St John’s player was headlocked by a Fraser parent, the witness said.

Two further St John’s players were punched by Fraser parents, according to the witness. One player sustained a black eye while the other two were “roughed up”.

Multiple parents from both sides and the referee were involved pulling players and supporters alike from the scuffle, the witness said, with verbal abuse flying.

No first aid was needed but the witness said if it happened a short distance away and off a rugby field the incident, charges would result.

“You walk those teams 50 metres across to the university and they all have uniforms on, that’s just straight up assault,” the witness said.

A police spokesperson said: “Police’s School Community Officers are aware of the report and working with the schools involved”.

Waikato Rugby was approached for comment on why the incident wasn’t made public in their earlier warning and what consequences could follow for those involved.

“Waikato Rugby are not responsible for the running of the secondary school rugby competition - this is overseen and run by a secondary school governance group and as a result, the incident is being dealt with through the appropriate channels, which are the schools themselves,” Waikato Rugby’s chief executive Amy Marfell said.

“Waikato Rugby do not publicise any sanctionable incidents that occur in the competitions that we run, these are dealt with by appropriate judiciary processes and we expect that this instance would be dealt with by the schools and the governance group under their own processes for breaches of the rules.”

“It is important that this incident and all incidents of this type are dealt with appropriately to ensure the safety of all participants, coaches, volunteers and spectators in the game.”

“Waikato Rugby has a clear position on this type of behaviour, which we have articulated, and we will work with any school or club to support them to deal with these matters.”

The witness said Fraser’s under-14 side has another game this weekend.“If I knew what I knew and I was a part of that team, I’d be pulling out (and) I’d be saying ‘no I’m not going to play that’. That’s just silly.”

City leaders have previously given their thoughts on violent sideline abuse, with Hamilton City Council deputy mayor Geoff Taylor labelling it as “just ugly.”

'Team sport is a great thing for our society and for our community… older people just need to butt out and let kids play the game and enjoy the game.'

“We do feel some responsibility for it as well… we certainly offer our vocal support for anyone who is trying to clamp down on this type of behaviour.”