‘He should've kicked him harder’: All Blacks captain kicks teenage pitch invader

Photo / NZHerald

After beating Argentina 41‒12 in the Rugby Championship, All Blacks captain Sam Cane turned away from his team huddle to kick a boy running past, sending his shoe flying and face into the dirt. 

Many in the rugby community have backed Cane kicking the boy, contrasting the response to a young pitch invader years ago who received a medal. 

Charlie Line, at 14 years old, was gifted Sonny Bill Williams’ Rugby World Cup Winner’s Medal by the athlete, after the boy was tackled by field security 2015. 

Williams was later awarded the 2015 Panathlon International Fair Play Award for aiding the pitch invader. 

But in 2023, sports commentator Scotty Stevenson on TVNZ’s Breakfast said, “the kid got what he deserved, stop running on the field,” to a round of applause from others in the room. 

He added, “kids are like rubber, they take a lot of punishment”, and “I reckon he should've kicked him harder.”  

The 2015 invader received a lot more sympathy, with many calling security’s treatment harsh on social media and commending Williams’ “wonderfully spontaneous gesture”. 

“Why did security tackle him bloody rookies”, one commented on a 1News Facebook post.  

Others commented he was “aggressively tackled” and the “guard went too far”. 

Sam Cane apologised on Instagram for his actions, “I am really sorry and am disappointed in myself”, and later said he video-called the teen on good terms. 

Massive followers were torn over Cane’s actions, with a poll showing 44% of people thought Cane wasn’t justified. 

Dr Trish Bradbury, programme director of Massey’s Bachelor of Sport Management, said, “it’s not something he should've done”, but acknowledged Cane couldn’t know the invaders age. 

“It puts a shadow over the quality of the game, the excitement of winning,” Bradbury said. 

“Here they are in a huddle, they’re pretty pleased with what they've just achieved, and then this happens - and that detracts from the sport itself.” 

From the 2015 incident till now, the difference in perceptions of these two young pitch-invaders makes little sense. 

One teen was rewarded and supported for invading the pitch, the other was kicked and verbally harassed by adults. 

Richard Casutt, General Manager of Harbour Sport and lecturer at Massey University, said he didn’t condone Cane’s actions. 

“The actual action of physical violence, kicking someone… is just not something you want to see in general by anyone, regardless of who it is or where it is.” 

“The only way it would be possible, that it was maybe plausible, is if the person was attacking one of the players”. 

Casutt acknowledged some pitch invaders have lethal intentions, such as one crowd member in 1993 who stabbed professional tennis player Monica Seles with a boning knife. 

He said had someone intervened like Cane did, this stabbing could have been avoided. 

Former All Black and commentator, Jeff Williams, on Sky’s Breakdown said, “I would've liked him [Cane] to make one more tackle after the game, make a decent clean tackle.” 

Similarly, former All Black Israel Dagg tweeted, “I would have done the same tbh ... maybe a lazy no arm shoulder!!”. 

Zed Woodman, captain of Wellington’s Marist St Pats U85 team said Cane was in the wrong. 

“Infront of an Argentinian crowd, after demolishing them comprehensibly with points... kicking over this Argentinian boy right in front of everyone? I thought that was shocking.” 

“Sam Cane, considering he's our captain, he represents us and everything New Zealand is.”