Fraser High rugby manager defends her boys

Wednesday, 20 May 2026

Accusations of parents assaulting teenage rugby players at a recent under-14 match in Hamilton are not true, says the manager of one of the teams involved.

But the behaviour of some parents on the sideline at a tense, and tightly contested match between St John’s College and Fraser High School “could have been a lot better … and was embarrassing”, says Fraser’s under-14 manager Leonie Verran.

Verran said publicity of the incident was making mountains out of molehills - the result being a group of “dedicated, passionate, and humble” young men losing confidence “and feeling gutted” through no fault of their own.

The incident appears to be the catalyst for a generic warning about shoddy sideline behaviour from the Waikato Rugby Union days later, even though the union, by its own admission, “are not responsible for the running of the secondary school rugby competition” and the matter “would be dealt with by the schools and the governance group”.

Neither school has responded to multiple phone calls, messages or emails from the Waikato Times after an anonymous St John’s-linked witness said opposition parents punched two children, leaving one with a black eye, and put another in a headlock at the end of the match, won 7-5 by Fraser.

The witness accused Fraser players of “reasonably dirty play”, “high tackles” and “extra attention on the ground,” after having a try disallowed late in the game, claims which were later disputed by the referee on the day, as well as by Verran.

However, the referee said a boy was grabbed around the neck and “swung off the ground” by an adult in the post-game altercation.

The referee - who did not want to be named - was worried the players were being unfairly blamed for the post match fracas after playing “a good-spirited game”.

He said only one man “acted like an idiot”, despite reports of wider violence, and said he believed Fraser supporters should be banned for a month as a consequence.

He did not see any punches, only people trying to pull kids apart and calm them down.

There was some yelling between the kids, the referee said, and he saw a Fraser supporter pulling a St John’s boy off the ground, choking him.

“That boy was going red in the face. I had to push [the man] over to make him release the kid.”

No other parent was involved, and the kids were not to blame, he said.

Video of the incident shared with the Waikato Times was inconclusive.

Footage shows an after-match scuffle between players that led to some pushing and shoving, as well as parents coming on to the pitch to pull players apart.

Video shows one St John’s player being held around the arms and lower chest by a parent - who then falls to the ground with the player - but the rest of the incident is obscured.

Verran said the St John’s-linked witness “may have exaggerated” parts of the scuffle, but was adamant that no parent linked to Fraser High had intentionally assaulted anyone.

“There was no hit, there was no strike, there was no headlock.”

She said it was a case of parents “trying desperately” to pull the two players apart to prevent “a situation that could have ended badly”.

Verran said she asked one parent who had become “disgruntled, and overly vocal” to quieten down because she was “a little bit embarrassed”.

“They were very passionate … they weren’t derogatory to the other team, and the ref never felt unsafe, but it was beyond what I would like to see on the sideline.

“I want people to know our boys are not monsters … last week they were very sombre, and it took a lot to pick ourselves up and put a brave face on.

“There’s a lot of positive things happening at that school, and our boys felt gutted seeing this out in public.”

She said the referee was not there to control unruly parents, who “have learned their lesson, based on everything that's happened so far”.

“So there has been some positives to come out of this.

“We've got a lot of passionate parents who are keen to see their kids do really well.”

She said sideline bans would be the last resort.

“I think that an initial warning is good … the ref should have a talk with the manager and the coach of each team together at the start of the game.

“And then the manager needs to go and speak to the parents and give them a warning.

“If that carries on, they should be asked to leave, but then again, we're not the police.

“All that we can do at that point is ask them to leave and go and have a breather.”