Bravo Horowhenua Kapiti Rugby Football Union.   

The union, along with the full support of all concerned parties, have taken a stand against the scourge of the game. In fact, the scourge of sport full stop.  

The unprecedented step of postponing an entire weekend of rugby, across all grades, is a case of the mouse that roared. This little provincial union, based in Levin, has acted on a promise, has backed up a threat, has drawn a line in the sand.   

Tired of the increasing rhetoric of rage emanating from the sideline, they have made a stand. Not on my watch. Not on our sidelines. Not in front of our children.   

It may seem like taking a gun to a knife fight, an overreaction to a small number of ferals who choose to behave like animals, but it’s not. It’s the act of a union who has the moral strength to attempt to bring a narrative of respect and decency back to our national game.   

This weekend, hundreds of players will hit pause on their season because of the actions of a few. This will eventually, I believe, trigger a groundswell of fans of the game, who will no longer tolerate the actions of a few.   

This is not a ‘thoughts and prayers’ moment. This is a small voice that has been heard all over the country, that I’d hope will embolden other unions to follow suit.   

For one person to stand up to a sideline goon is difficult, but when many take the same stand, the power will be transferred from the transgressor to the greater good.   

The regrettable part of this is not that it must happen, which is a sad indictment on sporting fandom, but that it has been pioneered by a small union in the heartland.  

Horowhenua Kapiti RFU shouldn’t have to take the weight of this on their shoulders, this is not their issue.  NZR is the custodian of the game, they are the wheelhouse, this is their responsibility. It’s a black mark on their organisation that this boil must be lanced by a small union, not by the people charged with running the game.  

HKRFU wrote in their release, the standard you walk past is the standard you accept. As a nation of sports fans, we must no longer accept the misguided rage from the sideline.  

Surely we’re better than that.