A Southland under-14 rugby league player was assaulted by an adult after a closely fought final, his trainer says.
It was one of a series of violent incidents which later led to three life bans from the sport and the result of the game being overturned.
The winning team, He Tauaa, had their title stripped following an investigation by an independent judiciary panel.
A statement from the Southland Rugby League district’s board said the incident had been thoroughly reviewed.
Three individuals received lifetime bans, another received a two-year suspension and one person was suspended for one year.
Two more individuals need to complete educational programmes should they wish to participate in rugby league in the future.
Last Saturday, police were called to Waverley Park in Invercargill where He Tauaa were playing the Cowboys in the Southland Rugby League under-14 grand final.
He Tauaa team trainer Kawana Autini Devon said near the end of the match, the score was "pretty close", and in the dying minutes of the game one of the He Tauaa players stopped a try "really close to the line".
"Whoever got tackled did not like the tackle and a couple of words may have been said."
One player punched the other, then players from both sides began brawling.
Mr Devon and the He Tauaa coach rushed over to break up the fight. He said a bystander was seen rushing into the thick to start punching the children.
Mr Devon pulled one of the opposition players off one of his players, which angered the boys’ parents, who came storming over.
"They jumped straight up in my face and started trying to fight me."
The match continued after the brawl and then ended with a He Tauaa victory.
After the game, the earlier confrontation moved to the carpark.
"They didn’t like the nature of how I pulled him off [my player], but in my eyes, what am I supposed to do? The kids were already fired up."
Mr Devon said he was surrounded by "Cowboys’ supporters" when the He Tauaa team saw the commotion and rushed over to him.
The under-14 He Tauaa team ended up getting into a "verbal altercation" with the adults.
"I understand that our kids might have been mouthing off, but at the end of the day they’re all like 14, 15, 13, and 12 ... our youngest player is 12."
The He Tauaa coach then came over to move his players away, however, one Cowboy supporter followed them.
The next thing Mr Devon saw was the supporter throwing punches at the boys.
Another adult was also allegedly assaulting a child at the same time.
"One of the other Cowboy supporters ... he goes away, changes his jersey, and comes back to the altercation and starts grabbing [the head of] one of our kids ... and smashing it into the side of my car — it was pretty crazy."
He said it was up to the adults to be role models when confronted with conflict.
"The head coach and I, we don’t come from the greatest background, and confrontation is something that we do ... but in this specific situation we’re trying to keep things calm, keep our boys from fighting because that’s our responsibility as adults.
"The Cowboy supporters weren’t happy for whatever reason, but to actually go out there and assault 14-year-old kids because of a loss ... that’s crazy."
As a result of the events, the incident was investigated and the He Tauaa team had their title revoked.
"It’s quite upsetting that they had their championship revoked off the back of actions of full-grown adults, who should know better."
New Zealand Rugby League was approached for comment.
