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Bottle throwing nearly stopped rugby test
Bruce Holloway
Monday, June 18, 2007
Match officials came within 30 seconds of calling off the All Blacks-Canada rugby test in Hamilton on Saturday after bottles were thrown on to the pitch.
Waikato Rugby Union marketing manager Pat Mellsop acknowledged as much today, in explaining the background to a plea broadcast over the stadium sound system midway through the second half for patrons to stop throwing bottles.
"We beat the call by the ref by about 30 seconds," Mellsop said.
"They had started discussing the fact the game was about to be called off.
"It was one clean sharp notice. We didn't say to stop the Mexican wave, we said to stop throwing bottles.
"The officials were looking at the in-goal area at the Green Zone end, where there were a lot of bottles on the pitch.
"We have no problems with Mexican waves, but we have a big problem... when people throw bottles.
"It is a wonderful, wonderful stadium," Mellsop said, "but the challenge when it goes on the field is it is a real safety concern. Players can do serious damage to their ankles."
The Waikato Times asked why a plea to stop the bottle-throwing was only made when debris was on the field, rather than when spectators were under fire from raining bottles.
"Unfortunately that gets no weight," Mellsop said. "It doesn't have the power to stop the behaviour."
He was grateful spectators heeded the call to stop.
"The (New Zealand) rugby union is looking at how we coped. It is not what we want the test to be remembered for.
"There were far more positives. It was a great occasion, a sell-out, people responded to the All Blacks. The facility and event ran well, it looked fantastic and the pre-match and half-time entertainment was slick."
Many Waikato spectators appeared to accept the Mexican wave mayhem as part of the stadium package.
One man who was hit in the head by a plastic bottle in the lower tier of the Perry Stand was left bleeding from the scalp.
"It must have come from the seats above to have cut me," he said.
But the man, who did not want to be named, said he did not want to make an issue of the incident.
"Look, I was supporting the All Blacks years ago when the Lions were touring and it was a lot worse then," he said suggesting that the liquid rained down on people in the lower stands was a lot less palatable than beer.
Eleanor McTavish was in the Green Zone with her two sons.
She got sprayed with beer and ducked for cover each time the wave came around, but had no complaints.
"The bottles were flying and the beer was spraying, but the atmosphere was quite good," she said.
"I didn't mind, to be honest. It is what you would expect in that area. I warned the kids that is what it would be like."
Mellsop was satisfied with the actions of 170 security and ushering staff, who, he said, specifically targeted areas such as the Green Zone and moved in quickly to isolate those throwing bottles.
In February Cricket Australia banned Mexican waves at its venues, with enforcement assisted by plain clothes policemen.
Waikato Times
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