Some fans have sparked outrage after throwing what appeared to be glass bottles and chairs during the Mate Ma’a Tonga–Kiwi clash at Mt Smart Stadium last night, won by New Zealand 26-6.
An eyewitness alleged some Mate Ma’a Tonga fans hurled bottles at the Kiwi supporters.
Tongan broadcaster and journalist Kite Tu’akalau said he was right there when some fans hurled bottles “tolo hina” at others.
“Shame on you,” he wrote on Facebook, describing the encounter in Tongan as “embarrassing, ill-disciplined and nonsense”.
A video posted on social media, seen by Kaniva News, showed three men with Tongan flags climbing from the stands towards a corporate box.
Some men attempted to force their way inside the box before another threw a chair at one of the glass windows, causing it to crack.
A person was hospitalised while a police investigation was underway, police reportedly said.
Commenters on Tu’akalau’s posts criticised the incident as “unsportsmanlike conduct” and “low life”.
One said “that’s disgusting” while another said, “Ban him from all League game(s) … What a retard”.
Some said these unacceptable and unprofessional actions brought a bad image to hundreds of thousands of supporters of the Mate Ma’a Tonga team.
Kiwis beat Tonga
However, it failed to mar the colourful international double header match-up in which the Kiwis defeated Mate Ma’a Tonga 26-6 in front of a sellout 26,000 crowd, a sea of red shirts and flags.
Kiwis 26: Hughes, Rapana, Mulitalo, Papali’i tries; Rapana conversion, 4 x penalty.
Tonga 6: Katoa try; Staggs conversion.
Earlier, a world record was broken as the Kiwi Ferns beat the Tongan women 50-12.
The crowd of 18,364 was the biggest ever for a women’s rugby league match.
Later, at Campbelltown Stadium in New South Wales, the Papau New Guinea Kumuls stunned a star-studded Fiji side to win 24-14.
PNG were $4 outsiders at kick-off and Fiji struck first through Kevin Naiqama but Storm star Justin Olam and Roosters young gun Lachlan Lam took control from there.
Both teams were stacked with NRL stars and the opening 40 minutes proved a free-flowing contest.
In the earlier game in a double header, Samoa thrashed Cook Islands 42-12.
Republished with permission.
