Milnerton Rugby Football

Harlequins Rugby Club Milnerton

15 July 2006: Harlequins under 20 match called off, squad suspended

An under-20 rugby club match in Milnerton, between Harlequins and Collegians was called off 12 minutes into the second half after "all hell broke loose" on the field.

The first half went smoothly but in the 2nd half "all hell broke loose". The fight started minutes after the referee had red carded a Collegians player for foul language (Collegians were trailing 0-21 at the time of the red card).

Punches and kicks were thrown in a free-for-all, with 8 players from the Harlequins side injured and a player from Collegians being left with a broken nose.

The match referee, Stephan du Toit, will present a report on the brawl to the Western Province Rugby Union on Monday, "because something has to be done". "There was a problem in the ruck and then I saw a Collegians player jump on a Harlequins player with both feet."

The reserves of both sides then rushed on to the field and it became a free-for- all. Parents also rushed onto the field to try to stop the brawl. Du Toit then decided to call off the game (12 minutes into the 2nd half)

Accusations

Harlequins accused the Collegians side of playing dirty throughout the game.

Collegians, of Lentegeur, said a religious insult against a Muslim Collegians player had sparked a racial insult.
This 2nd insult was overheard by the referee, who red carded the Collegian.

Veronica Karstel was one of the Harlequins parents who rushed onto the field after she saw her son Shane being stomped on by a Collegians player. "All that was going through my head was the Loots incident and I wasn't going to let that happen. So I just rushed out there."

Harlequins number 6 flank Juan Karstel was kicked in the forehead when he ran to protect his brother Shane. "Juan held the Collegians guy down and then another Collegian just came and kicked straight for Juan's head," Shane said. Juan added that there was a "lot of chirping and swearing going on, they were provoking us to hit them or start something". "From the start of the game the Collegians were swearing at us and our mothers. It seemed like they wanted a fight instead of a match."

Harlequins under 20 squad suspended

Followed a disciplinary hearing; Herman Abrahams, head of club rugby for the Western Province Rugby Union, said he had decided to suspend not only the teams but also the 22 players who appeared on the score card to play that day. Both teams indicated that they accepted the judgment and wouldn't contest the matter further.

Collegians wins court order

On Friday the 11th August 2006, the Cape High Court granted an order in favour of Collegians Rugby Football club in terms of which Western Province Rugby Union is restrained from postponing scheduled Collegian matches pending the outcome of the appeal, that the parties agree on a mutually acceptable date for the appeal hearing and that the union pay the cost of the application.

References

13 August 2006	Collegians back on the field
22 July 2006	Rugby teams banned for violence

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