Fight kicks off between parents and players in South African school boy match

For those of you who remember playing youth-level rugby, sometimes the matches could get a little feisty, particularly when it came to local rivalries.

Well, one school match in South Africa has gone one step above the ‘normal’ youth agro, with the parents becoming involved in the fracas.

A Cape derby between Bishops College and SACS at the weekend became the setting of an ugly scene as players got ‘into it’ right in front of the supporters behind the try line consisting of parents of the children and the ‘old boys’, causing a clash as emotions rode high.

Whilst the majority of spectators acted to break up the scrap, many have called them out for entering the field of play, claiming that the officials should have been allowed to deal with it.

In what could well have become the ugliest of all scenes, one player was seen to be marked across the face by a lady in a headscarf on the right-hand side of the picture, before he was pulled away by teammates.

Ugly scenes in the Cape derby between Bishops and SACS yesterday with parents and old boys joining in after a fight broke out between the players.

Disgusting behaviour by all adults involved. They should be ashamed.

📽️: @SARugbymag pic.twitter.com/sFT5yMEATY

— Mariette Adams (@MarietteAdams_) August 11, 2024

One person said: “Parents should not get involved. Boys will throw in few punches, once in a while. After that, they must be punished and forced to have coffee with each other. Part of growing up.”

Another added: “Every single one of the guilty should be charged / fined and taught a lesson.”

Bishops edged SACS 12-10 in the thrilling encounter at the Piley Rees Field.