Schools should back action on rugby thugs

Schools should back the NZRFU taking a tough line on rugby thugs, says National's Education spokesman, Bill English.

His comments come after a series of assaults on referees in schoolboy rugby matches over the weekend.

"School rugby already suffers from perception problems, with parents regarding it as too physically intensive," says Mr English.

"Schools need to show that they understand the seriousness of attacks on referees and should show their support for tough action, like life bans from the game for players who assault referees.

"Schools also need to tidy up their own expectations of young rugby players. This sort of behaviour does not occur out of the blue. It happens because coaches and parents too often overlook uncontrolled aggression on the field.

"Parents will divert their children away from rugby if they don't see incidents like those last weekend being dealt with decisively by schools as well as by the NZRFU," says Mr English.

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