Rugby hearing into incident

An Oamaru man charged with assault after he allegedly punched a rugby referee at the end of a Citizens Shield semifinal on Saturday faces a North Otago Rugby Football Union judicial hearing.

The 20-year-old was to have appeared in the Oamaru District Court yesterday but his appearance was adjourned until August 29.

The incident unfolded at the end of the game between Old Boys and Valley, won by the latter 32-29 after extra time, in a game that included three yellow cards shown to Old Boys players.

The rugby union began its own investigation into the incident this week and rugby union chief executive Colin Jackson said a judicial hearing on the incident would be held tonight.

The union would make no comment until after the judicial process was complete, Jackson said.