Brutality:

It seems that the name of the game is "thugby". The disgraceful behaviour of certain teams in the local rugby competition is getting more and more serious. Every Saturday now a mockery is being made of the traditional qualities of all sports, let alone rugby.

So there is a basic feeling against students already. Certain clubs, particularly the Porirua R.F.C. have carried this further. Porirua R.F.C. is a particularly bad proponent in that it can rely on racism to come to the fore in its fixtures. It is a great pity that the Islanders in this Club have not been trained in the traditional qualities of sport, and see their games as "win...or else". It is an indictment of their administrators that they should continue to ignore what the Wellington Rugby Union has said; they must train teams to play rugby and rugby only, on the field. They are capable of sparkling rugby but at the moment teams just do not want to play them be ause of their unpredictable and sometimes brutal behaviour.

Stories of players striking referees, reserves rushing out onto the field to join the fray, and supporters screaming encouragement to their "fighters" are now circulating in local newspapers. University teams have not been the only ones to be involved, but they have been the worst affected, because of the factors I have outlined above.

The Junior 7 A's have been particularly hard hit in several matches against a team representing Witako prison, Wainui-omata teams and Porirua. Sometimes their games have been called off early, and many times players in this team have been quite badly hurt.

Rugby is a hard, physical-contact game. University teams play it hard, and I do not wish to say that they are without fault themselves. However, it seems they are bearing the brunt of the brutal attitudes of many of the teams in the local Rugby competition.