New Zealand Rugby Union bans stadium fireworks

New Zealand beat Australia at Eden Park on the weekend 51-20 in a dominating display of rugby, but after the match New Zealand Rugby officials announced their intentions to ban stadium fireworks for future reference.

After the traditional Haka performed by New Zealand, a common fireworks display goes off after the dance to get the stadium pumped before kick-off, however on Saturday the display backfired disastrously.

Three spectators were seriously injured with pieces of metal shrapnel penetrating the crowd, as Cecillia Wang was said to have lost a large amount of blood due to the injury sustained to her head.

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Horrific scenes

According to the Telegraph, Cecillia’s husband, Jimmy Wang, spoke to the media after the game and re-lived the horrific event that took place before kick-off in Auckland.

“She was just screaming and lost consciousness, she was pouring with blood. I tried to hold her cut but the blood wouldn’t stop, it was like opening tap water, it kept coming out,” Jimmy Wang said.

“The piece of metal hit her glasses first and because of that it changed direction and just cut through her forehead.”

This event deserves the upmost attention because it is based around a failure within the actual display, so questions need to be asked about the health and safety of the equipment and set-up, as well as who was in charge of the fireworks.

New Zealand Rugby Union

New Zealand’s rugby board have done well to tackle the incident straight away and to ban fireworks for future games, as it takes the fan’s consent into view and shows that they stand for the welfare of their spectators.

Whether fireworks will be banned from other matches on the other hand, when New Zealand travel to the UK for their Autumn series in November, is still undecided.

But then again the stadium needs to be taken into consideration. Eden Park has small stands that are situated close to the pitch making the effects of these fireworks worse.

Stadium Size

At grounds like Twickenham, where it is a bigger stadium, fans are further away from the pitch so the stadium size needs to be discussed on top of safety.

It would be understandable if the crowd are literally touching the turf because then the fireworks are a definite hazard to the public and even the players.

But with some stadiums the fireworks play a role. When England or Wales play at their home ground during international matches it brings a fire and passion to the arena, urging fans to make more noise and pump up the players.

It is also a traditional feature to have fireworks after a victory such as when New Zealand win the Bledisole Cup or even in next years’ Rugby World Cup, considering that it may not be a problem, as this has been the first time something like this has happened at Eden Park

It wouldn’t be the worst rule the RFU or NZU bring into rugby, as they are just fireworks and Haka itself should get the crowd pumped up before the game. Fireworks bring a spectacle and that can easily be replaced by the roar of the crowd.

Article source: http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/England-play-Ireland-Women-s-Rugby-World-Cup-semi/story-22290607-detail/story.html

New Zealand Rugby Union bans stadium fireworks