Julian Savea proves once again Violence is part of N.Z Rugby’s fabric.

‘It’s Not OK’ is an admirable New Zealand campaign against family violence. 

One of its literal poster-boys (refer above) is, or more rightly now was, Julian Savea. 

He's just been charged with giving his ‘mrs’ a slap around.  

It’s called common assault.  

Here’s what the naïve but well-meaning anti-violence group has to say on their web site…. 

In a sports-mad country like New Zealand, sportspeople can play an influential role in promoting a culture of non violence.  

The Campaign is working with sports clubs all over New Zealand at a national and local level, in partnership with family violence networks.  

Sports clubs and their leaders and players are influential in their own communities. Role models can talk to younger players and build a community of support that says no to family violence.  

It's not OK messages can strengthen efforts to improve behaviour on the field and on the sideline. 

Why the hell would any group trying to promote anti-violence go anywhere near a toxic group like rugby union given their sordid record?  

Rugby and violence in New Zealand are intertwined.  

The predictable from Steve Tew (a.k.a Spew) chief of the NZRU was “Without judging the rights or wrongs of this case, we are concerned that this is another incident involving a young player.  We need to find out whether we are doing enough to help these young men cope with the pressures of the professional game.”

Yet again it’s the ‘pressure of the professional game’ that we are to believe is the root cause of so-many players going off the rails.   

In what must be a world-breaking criminal research, the NZRFU have concluded there is a causative link between playing sport at a high level and assaulting people, getting pissed-up etc.       

The same sort of pressure that apparently doesn’t exist in any other top code like say N.Z Soccer players who by my recollection have never been involved in a single off-field incident, yet arguably play at a far higher level of sport on a global scale than any rugby player.   

The pressures of competing at The Olympics that have resulted in all those assaults by our rowers and triathletes – not!     

When is the NZRFU going to break-through its alcoholic like haze and admit “Our game has a serious problem”?  

 

It's not O.K to blame the profession 'rugby player' as an excuse for family violence.