Cops, robbers and schools rugby

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The recent problems that have cropped up concerning referee safety at school rugby games have led to the adoption of a number of resolutions aimed at controlling incendiary elements in the crowd. Among them is a move to have police monitor security at matches, raising the question of whether such action is appropriate for rugby at the school level.
Pix by Amila Gamage

The Police definitely need to get involved. I think these matches have become so competitive that they are no longer like school matches, and teams are fighting each other more fiercely than before. So you need to prevent things from getting out of hand rather than handle them once they have already gone out of control. - Ajith Hettiarachi (Private sector employee)	I think it is important to have police at games in order to keep spectators in their place. But there are two sides to the coin and referees should do a better job officiating matches, then the crowd won’t get upset. - T.I. S. W Ally (CR and FC Manager):	I personally feel it is not a good move. Even though spectators are sometimes making a mockery of things you shouldn’t bring the police in. This was never done in the past. But the quality of refereeing should also improve. If you look at games handled by guys like Dilroy Fernando, you never have any of these problems. - Ashen Karthelis (National Rugby Player)
Putting police in school games is not a wise move. The schools who are playing each other must hire private security to handle games but you should not get the police involved. It is not good for the schoolchildren playing the game and those starting to play it. - Chula Susantha (Club player)	I think it is a good move and the only way to control spectators now. I don’t think it will have any serious effect on the children playing because it does not directly involve them. - Ian Collins (Parent)	This is a very bad thing to do because the police don’t need to get involved in school matches. School rugby is something played and enjoyed by kids so the police shouldn’t be involved in it. - Mangali Athanayake (Parent)
If you look at the situation, what can the Referees Society do against an outsider? You can apply IRB laws for players but you have to fall back on the law of the land when dealing with the crowd because if they come to a match, assault the referees and abuse the players, they have committed a crime under the penal code. - Nimal Lewke (Former senior DIG and head of the Referees Society)	It is definitely necessary to have police at matches to control the crowd. I think it is a good decision and the only way to have some sort of control of the spectators. - Rajeew Perera (National Rugby Player)	Having cops at school matches is a good thing. I don’t think it will have a bad influence on players because this is only for the crowd and if you look at most international matches the security is handled by the police. - Shenal Dias (National Rugby Player)