Canterbury boy and his dad banned from rugby after teen ref assaulted during a game

Tuesday, 21 July 2026

An under-18 rugby player and his father have been banned from rugby after a teenage referee was assaulted during a Canterbury club game.

A Leeston/BDI (Burnham, Dunsandel, and Irwell) rugby player was playing an under-18 match against West Melton at Leeston Park on July 4 when the assault occurred against the ref.

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The referee made a call that the player didn’t like, Leeston’s club president Sean Taiaroa said.

“The first one [action the player] did was a wee shoulder charge over him, and then the ref ran right in front and he pushed him right over,” Taiaroa said.

Taiaroa estimated the player was at least 20kgs heavier than the ref.

“I’ve seen the video, it’s not good.”

The player’s father then began berating the ref, which almost led to a physical altercation as others, including the coach of West Melton’s under 18s, attempted to calm the situation down, Taiaroa said.

The boy was immediately stood down from the club and the assault was escalated to the Ellesmere Rugby Sub Union, which covers rugby clubs across Selwyn and Banks Peninsula, before the player was brought before Canterbury Rugby’s judicial process.

He was banned from the game until the start of the 2028 season - a sentence Taiaroa thought was light.

“I thought he would have got two years. His dad represented himself … he only got 12 weeks’.”

It was not clear if the 12-week ban would cover the final week of this season, and the first 11 of next year’s season, he said.

Taiaroa said it was hard enough to get find referees without them being hurt for making calls.

“[The ref is] only a school kid too and he’s just learning. [The player] he’s remorseful apparently, which he needs to be, because that was stupid.

“He needs to stand up, and be tall and do the right thing.

“You can get frustrated but you’ve just got to learn how to handle referees. We need the referee to be on our side, not against us.”

Taiaroa said an assessor from the Canterbury Rugby Referee’s Association was at the game and saw everything.

Multiple letters of have been sent from club figures to the referee, the referee association, and Canterbury Rugby, Taiaroa said.

Leslie Greenslade, the chairperson of Ellesmere Rugby Sub Union, said the young referee was doing well and has been checked on by the union.

“The referees have wrapped around him.”

Greenslade said the incident was isolated, and there had been no other reports of similar assaults submitted to the union this season.

The Canterbury Rugby Referees’ Association was approached for comment.