Five young players from the Otahuhu Rugby Club in Auckland have been banned for life after an assault on a referee earlier this month.
A judicial hearing into the incident at the end of a match between Otahuhu under-19 and Suburbs under-19 on August 6 enforced the bans after hearing evidence and video footage into the fracas which saw the referee injured.
The police are also looking into the incident.
The club and team coach have also been sanctioned, but the details of their penalties remain confidential until a seven day window to appeal the penalties expires.
Auckland Rugby Union chairman Glenn Wahlstrom said the independent judicial committee had acted decisively to protect match officials.
"The judicial committee has given a very strong message and rightly so. Match officials must have the right to be safe in the role they perform without being subjected to the threat or even worse, acts of violence," he said.
