After months of arguing on Channel 1 about which sport is tougher, finally the proof... Rugby is the mans game:
(from
http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,886076a10,FF.html) Police called in over testicle incident
31 July 2001
By BRUCE HOLLOWAY
Parents of a Pirongia teenager who lost a testicle in a club rugby match were today planning to lay a complaint with police.
But the Waikato Rugby Union is saying as little as possible about the incident.
The Pirongia under-19 player was admitted to Waikato Hospital the day after their match against Otorohanga Kio Kio United on July 20, where he had a testicle surgically removed.
The teenager, his parents, Pirongia rugby club officials and the Waikato Rugby Union's council of clubs chairman John Gillespie met last night, and later issued a six-paragraph statement which said "welfare of the player" was the priority.
"The Pirongia club, the Waikato Rugby Union and the family have decided that owing to the gravity of the injury the matter will be placed in the hands of the police," said the post-meeting WRU statement.
The meeting decided David Cooper, the union's amateur rugby manager, is the only person who will now speak on the incident.
But today he refused all comment, calling dead ball on all issues.
He would not answer a question on whether the WRU would itself be a party to the complaint. Nor would Cooper say whether placing the matter in police hands meant the union believed foul play had taken place.
The union statement said the teenager had a testicle removed as "a result of a rugby injury".
But it added: "The Waikato Rugby Union firmly supports the family's concerns that there be sufficient education in rugby to ensure that players are aware of the consequences foul play can produce."
Cooper refused to expand on this and say whether the WRU planned any follow-up action at club level, or saw a case for internal disciplinary action.
Meanwhile the player has made a speedy recovery and will return to light work duties this week.
