SPREYDON UNDER-11 RUGBY MATCH STOPPED THREE TIMES IN TWENTY MINUTES — PLANE, COW, JANDAL
Ref blew the whistle for a Cessna. Then a heifer. Then a jandal. Parents lost the plot.
A Saturday morning under-11 rugby match at Barrington Park was halted three times in the first half. Once for a Cessna. Once for a heifer. Once for a jandal that appeared on halfway with no owner.
The ref, a bloke in his twenties who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, blew the whistle each time and gestured at the sky, the cow, and the jandal in turn. Play resumed after about four minutes each. By the third stoppage the sideline was fucked off.
"Where'd the cow even come from," said Spreydon dad Macca Rewiti, holding a warm sausage roll. "We're in bloody Spreydon, mate. Nearest paddock's Tai Tapu. That heifer had a commute."
By the second stoppage the dads had turned on the ref. A sparky from Hornby in a hi-vis vest yelled "BLOW THE WHISTLE FOR RUGBY, NOT FUCKEN AGRICULTURE" loud enough that a nan on the far touchline dropped her thermos. The ref pretended not to hear. Correct move.
The jandal is still unclaimed. Club officials put it on the fence post by the clubrooms. A spokesperson said the match was completed, the score didn't matter, and the cow had been "walked off by a bloke who reckoned he knew whose it was."
The ref has pulled out of next weekend's fixture citing "a wedding". No-one on the sideline believes him.
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Reader Letters
Trev_Spreydon
Only in New Zealand, eh?
CuriousKiwi
Mate, do planes usually land in Spreydon or was this a sightseeing tour of rugby games gone mad?
OldSchool_Stu
Bloody hell, how do you even let a plane, cow, and jandal disrupt a rugby game? Back in my day, we'd just get on with it, no matter what was flying over or wandering onto the field!
SensibleSandra
@OldSchool_Stu There's also the safety of kids to think about. That cow could have caused serious harm if it got too close!
rugby_fanatic92
The real issue is that this ref should've kept the game going. It's just rugby! We shouldn't stop for cows or jandals. Soft these days.
FarmerFrank
@rugby_fanatic92 Clearly you haven't seen what a roaming heifer can do to a rugby pitch. Pretty sure we should be grateful it wasn't a stampede.
LaughingLuke
A sparky from Hornby barking through the game? Classic! I'll bet the jandal was his. Someone should've blown the whistle on his commentary.
FootyFun
Rugby pitches are the new paddocks, apparently. Hope that cow gets a season ticket for next week!