Latest news with #RunitStraight
Sydney Morning Herald
03-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘It will result in death': But Run It Straight contestants say they're ‘blessed' to compete
Andrew Alauni has played rugby league in western Sydney for as long as he can remember. But he has never experienced anything quite like a Run it Straight tournament. 'What hypes me up is the crowd,' Alauni, 24, says. 'When I've got the crowd behind me, when they scream out my name ... honestly, I'm blessed being part of the event.' Run it Straight is a rapidly growing social media trend that has racked up millions of views across Instagram and TikTok. The object is simple: two players run at each other from opposite ends of a 10-metre strip and collide as hard as they can in a rugby league-style hit-up, aiming to knock the other over and win the collision. The risks are obvious, and the craze has already ended in tragedy. A week ago, 19-year-old Ryan Satterthwaite had his life support turned off after sustaining an ultimately fatal head injury playing the game in an Auckland backyard. His family said he had been influenced by social media. On Saturday, the Manly Sea Eagles vowed to step up game-day security after footage of fans skolling beer and running at each other behind the main hill at 4 Pines Park was watched more than 200,000 times online. Concussion expert Alan Pearce, a professor at Melbourne's Swinburne University, says the game is supercharging the most dangerous aspects of rugby league tackles and is gaining popularity among those who perceive safety rules in sport as 'woke'. 'What do you have is two large men running at each other at almost 25 to 30 kilometres an hour, but not stopping,' Pearce said. 'This is just pure collision with the idea of knocking out the opponent, which is the main concern that we have here from a brain injury perspective. 'You do not need a direct impact to the head in order for a brain injury to occur and only requires what we call an impulse force travelling to the brain.'
The Age
03-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
‘It will result in death': But Run It Straight contestants say they're ‘blessed' to compete
Andrew Alauni has played rugby league in western Sydney for as long as he can remember. But he has never experienced anything quite like a Run it Straight tournament. 'What hypes me up is the crowd,' Alauni, 24, says. 'When I've got the crowd behind me, when they scream out my name ... honestly, I'm blessed being part of the event.' Run it Straight is a rapidly growing social media trend that has racked up millions of views across Instagram and TikTok. The object is simple: two players run at each other from opposite ends of a 10-metre strip and collide as hard as they can in a rugby league-style hit-up, aiming to knock the other over and win the collision. The risks are obvious, and the craze has already ended in tragedy. A week ago, 19-year-old Ryan Satterthwaite had his life support turned off after sustaining an ultimately fatal head injury playing the game in an Auckland backyard. His family said he had been influenced by social media. On Saturday, the Manly Sea Eagles vowed to step up game-day security after footage of fans skolling beer and running at each other behind the main hill at 4 Pines Park was watched more than 200,000 times online. Concussion expert Alan Pearce, a professor at Melbourne's Swinburne University, says the game is supercharging the most dangerous aspects of rugby league tackles and is gaining popularity among those who perceive safety rules in sport as 'woke'. 'What do you have is two large men running at each other at almost 25 to 30 kilometres an hour, but not stopping,' Pearce said. 'This is just pure collision with the idea of knocking out the opponent, which is the main concern that we have here from a brain injury perspective. 'You do not need a direct impact to the head in order for a brain injury to occur and only requires what we call an impulse force travelling to the brain.'
Wales Online
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Tonight's rugby news as All Blacks star apologises for video after teenager's death and missing player found
Tonight's rugby news as All Blacks star apologises for video after teenager's death and missing player found The latest headlines from Wales and around the world Williams has apologised for a video he posted online These are your latest rugby headlines on the evening of Sunday, June 1 All Blacks star apologises for video after tragic death Former All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has issued an apology after he published a video on social media that appeared to show support for a viral rugby-based game which led to the death of a teenager in New Zealand. Ryan Satterthwaite, 19, died in hospital on Monday after suffering a "serious head injury" while playing a game of 'run it straight' with friends in the city of Palmerston North. The game - videos of which have recently gone viral on platforms like TikTok and Instagram - sees two players, one with a ball and the other the tackler, charge at each other at full speed with no protective gear, in order to try and knock each other down. Official tournaments have also been held, with one such event being held in Auckland earier this month, with participants competing for a prize of around $20,000. While the tragedy involving Satterthwaite made headlines around the world, Williams shared a clip on social media from a match he played for Canterbury in 2004, which saw him collide with Penrith star Joel Clinton. Captioning the video 'old school, what a hit', the 39-year-old added: "Playing run it straight before it was called run it straight". The post sparked backlash amid the tragic news, with Williams taking to social media again to apologise for his comments upon learning of the teenager's death. "I put a video up last night, and I just want to ask for forgiveness of the young fulla that passed away," he said. "Please excuse me for my insensitivity. I did not know that had happened. "I want to talk about it for a second right now. I've been asked to collab with the Run it Straight people, or a couple of people and I haven't, simply because I wouldn't put my kids in it. I have safety concerns and that's just my thoughts on it." However, Williams added that he believes the sport will continue to be played and called for changes to implemented to keep those involved as safe as possible. "I'd like weight classes and rules around head contact, but also age and experience classes as well," he continued. "It's gonna carry on, because people love it. It's entertainment. "But I'd like to see some heavily controlled safety restrictions come in. Once again to the family, my love and regards go out to you guys." Missing player found Rugby league player Brandon Moore has been found after going missing on Friday night, his wife has confirmed. The 28-year-old had been named in the Batley Bulldogs squad for their Championship match against Toulouse Olympique on Saturday but had not been seen since the night before. His wife Mara had posted an urgent appeal on Facebook to help find him, writing: "Please share. If anyone has seen Brandon Moore can you please message me? "I usually wouldn't ever post anything on here like this, but family and friends haven't seen or heard of him and hoping maybe someone's seen sightings of him and can message me? I have a 7 week old baby at home and 2 others so I can't go hunting myself other than a car ride.'" The post was shared over 2,700 times and the father-of-three has since been found, with Mara confirming that he is now "in safe hands". "Thank you to everyone that shared, we actually found him through the power of Facebook," she wrote as she confirmed the good news. "So thank you to everyone that's helped me!!" Lions star sweating on fitness Ireland flanker Josh van der Flier is a major doubt for Leinster's URC semi-final against Glasgow after being forced off with a hamstring issue against the Scarlets. Reports in Ireland suggest Leinster believe the injury is not serious, but the extent of it will not be known until Van der Flier undergoes a scan. Having recently been named in Andy Farrell's Lions squad to tour Australia, van der Flier faces a nervy wait. The back-row was forced off in the first-half of the 33-21 win over the Scarlets. Afterwards, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen took issue with Wales full-back Blair Murray's try on the stroke of half-time that brought the Scarlets within a point of the Irish province. "I think we're well on top for large parts of, particularly the first-half," said Cullen. 'It's a big moment before half-time, isn't it, because we are on their line. If you look at it, there are multiple Scarlets players that are offside, but we play and we don't execute, so there's stuff in our control. 'And then they go the length of the field, in a perfect world it gets refereed and you have a penalty there, and we're eight points clear at that stage, we'd go into half-time 11 points up. 'Instead it's one point and you're like 'Ughhhh'. But I thought the composure was good at half-time. Again, it paints a completely different complexion on the game. 'We've lost a knockout game where there's a penalty in front of the posts which (Henry) Pollock is off his feet which we should have had which we could have kicked to level the game. 'There should have been a penalty try at the end of that game which means we would have won that game which meant we would be talking about how we got on in the Champions Cup final. 'We're not at that stage, so knockout rugby, there are so many different variables, and we need to get all of our bits right and we'd hope that the referees get their bits right as well. 'But that's what it's like. It's tense, there's pressure there for both teams. And I thought we applied pressure for large periods of the game today. That's pleasing and a credit to the players. 'That try was such a big swing. It's a 92-metre turnaround and call it a 10-point swing in terms of the scoreboard. To come back from that, get back on top again and make sure we had a two-score lead for most of the remainder of the game was pleasing. Article continues below 'It's winning ugly sometimes, isn't it? You've got to do it, so I am pleased we won ugly."
Mercury
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mercury
‘Wouldn't put my kids in it': SBW apologises for promoting Run it Straight after New Zealand tragedy
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News. Sonny Bill Williams has apologised for sharing a video promoting 'Run it Straight' just days after a teenager in New Zealand died while playing a similar game with friends. One of the modern game's hardest hitters, Williams played in the pre and post shoulder charge NRL era, and there are plenty of videos on social media of his most brutal tackles. One user found a clip from 2004 of Williams putting a big hit on Penrith's Joel Clinton. Williams shared the footage, to his 1.5 million followers with the caption: 'Playing run it straight before it was called run it straight…' The 39-year-old later apologised after being made aware of the tragedy that took place in New Zealand earlier in the week. Nineteen year old Ryan Satterthwaite died on Monday night after suffering a head injury while playing a private game of 'run it straight' with friends in Palmerston North. Satterthwaite's uncle said he was inspired to give the viral online craze a try after seeing clips of it on social media. 'I put a video up last night, and I just want to ask for forgiveness of the young fulla that passed away,' Williams said in a follow up Instagram story on Saturday. 'Please excuse me for my insensitivity. Kiwi teenager Ryan Satterthwaite passed away while playing a game of run it straight with friends. Picture: Supplied 'I did not know that had happened. 'I want to talk about it for a second right now. 'I've been asked to collab with the Run it Straight people, or a couple of people, and I haven't. 'Simply because I wouldn't put my kids in it. 'I have safety concerns, and that's just my thoughts on it.' 'Run it straight' has exploded in popularity over the last five months, with videos of big collisions going viral on social media. The new 'sport' has proved controversial though, with dozens of concussion experts, former players, mental health professionals and even Prime Minister of New Zealand condemning the controversial game. Williams was a bruising defender in his day. Picture:Although he has his reservations, Williams believes the trend will continue. 'I'd like weight classes and rules around head contact, but also age and experience classes as well,' he said. 'It's gonna carry on, because people love it. It's entertainment. 'But I'd like to see some heavily controlled safety restrictions come in. 'Once again to the family, my love and regards go out to you guys.' Run it Straight touts itself as the world's newest combat sport. It sees two competitors - one attacker with a rugby ball, and one defender - run directly at each other from opposite ends of a 20m 'battlefield.' The huge collisions have seen scary knockouts, concussions and, in one instance, left a man convulsing on the ground. Run it Straight has been widely criticised for the obvious concussion dangers, and several planned events in New Zealand have been cancelled. Originally published as 'Wouldn't put my kids in it': SBW apologises for promoting Run it Straight after New Zealand tragedy
NZ Herald
30-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Letters: What David Seymour could learn from brave 8-year-old; Run it straight ban a no-brainer
Hairdressers, (who may or may not be qualified), can now offer their clients coffee and dogs can enter a salon if the owner allows it. While David Seymour gives a 'buzz cut' to archaic regulations, the minister may want to have his department turn the shears on himself totally wasting taxpayers' money. I'm fairly certain the Child Cancer Foundation could have made better use of that money. Mary Hearn, Glendowie. Run it straight out of town I find it hard to believe the Government is going to 'seek advice' about the possibility of banning Run it Straight events. Duelling with swords and pistols has been banned for decades. This new contest of who has the thickest skull may not involve weapons, but as we've seen already the potential for a fatal outcome is, tragically, only too obvious. How many more combatants will have to die or be maimed for life before the 'advice' being sought comes to the conclusion this new brand of stupidity should be outlawed immediately? Jeremy Coleman, Hillpark. RMA changes at what cost? So the Government has traded off increasing pollution of our water and land for higher returns for farmers and easier property development. The proposed RMA changes loosen regulations and standards to promote more industrial farming, make mining and quarrying easier and reclassify wetland to allow more building development. This will mean more pollution of our water, land and air, no matter how you cut it. This will bring with it huge health and environmental costs, which we all pay. This may be a quick sugar rush for the short-term business cycle but it's bad for everyone and the planet in the long term. The vital concept of sustainability has been smothered by the siren song of unrelenting growth. We are going to pay a very high price for this short-term thinking. Jeff Hayward, Auckland Central. Regulatory Standards Bill demands scrutiny The Regulatory Standards Bill, put forward by David Seymour, is marketed as upholding democratic values, but it does not explicitly protect free speech and may in practice do the opposite. It threatens protest rights and freedom of expression. For months, people across Aotearoa, including in downtown Auckland, have gathered peacefully to call for an end to Israel's assault on Gaza and urge our Government to uphold international law. Under this bill, such protests could be deemed 'inconsistent' with vague principles, judged by a minister-appointed board. The bill also sidelines Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It lacks any requirement to honour Treaty principles or include Māori voices, a major constitutional failure. Steve Bannon, former Trump adviser, once spoke of 'flooding the zone with chaos' to overwhelm the public. This bill feels just like that: unnecessary, confusing and dangerous. We already have checks in place: the Bill of Rights Act, Regulatory Impact Statements, select committees, the courts and oversight bodies like the Ombudsman and Human Rights Commission. With the June 23 deadline approaching for submissions, now is a good time for anyone concerned about our democratic rights to look closely at what this bill could mean. Dana A. Patterson, Waiheke Island. On stopping crime early Re 'Police push crime message' (Herald, May 28): since most crime is fuelled by substance abuse, each arrest is an opportunity not just for accountability but also for intervention, rehabilitation and healing. Most citizens consistently report wanting this approach rather than contributing to mass incarceration. The 'Broken Windows' theory of policing, which began in 1982, suggests that not intervening at lower levels of crime will result in the escalation of crime and also supports taking all theft crime more seriously. New Zealand is known for its innovative approach towards crime reduction, beginning with juvenile offending. Giving free passes to minor crime is inconsistent with best practices. Eugene M. Hyman, Judge Superior Court of California (retired), California, USA. Political blame game The coalition Government has been in the House for half of an electoral cycle and yet continues to blame Labour, who coped with a massive pandemic and kept thousands of the population alive, and also a huge cyclone, for the lack of economic growth. They also continue to blame Covid for their lack of action to address vital basic needs. The best this Government can do to rectify this is chase 30,000+ of our brightest offshore, make massive job cuts, disrespect women and our indigenous people, reduce the income and housing for those who have remained, increasing homelessness and poverty. They have not addressed child poverty or the climate change issue but pander to the wealthy and lobbyists by making laws under urgency with little or no consultation. These MPs live in a fantasy world and are totally out of touch with the real world. Marie Kaire, Whangarei. Something in the soil According to an article published in the 1961 American Popular Mechanics' science overseas section, New Zealand made headlines by the discovery that the metal molybdenum ingested with foods grown rich in the metal prevents cavities in teeth. A New Zealand study showed residents of Napier have fewer cavities than those of nearby Hastings, although they have common milk and water supplies. The different factor in their diet is the crops grown for food. Napier grows its crops in a former lagoon that has higher amounts of molybdenum, titanium and aluminium than those used for crop-growing in nearby Hastings. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay. NZ's voice on Gaza Firstly, I agree with John Minto (Herald, May 30) As usual he speaks from the heart and empathises with persecuted people wherever they are in the world. The United States, by supplying the weapons of war to Israel, is hugely complicit in the genocide of innocent women and children in Gaza. Our Foreign Minister's apparent willingness to go along with everything the Trump White House does actually makes us loosely complicit too. Our Government should have the fortitude to speak out whenever and wherever injustice is. Evidently, 147 of the 193 UN members recognise Palestine as a sovereign nation. It shocked me to learn New Zealand is one of the 47 countries that do not. To me this is shameful and needs to change. Surely this is the least we can do? Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay. More female referees too It is not only 'NZF under fire for overlooking female coaches' (Herald, May 29), it is also female referees. When I watch the all-men NRL games every weekend, often the major referee is a woman. Here they are always men in both male and female games. Why not share the jobs of rugby coaches and referees so half of both tasks are done by women? Please do it in 2025 for fair equal rights and fair choice, as New Zealand women absolutely deserve to have this equal right now. Murray Hunter, Titirangi. Online gambling harm Auctioning 15 online gambling licences is going to be devastating for addicted gamblers and their families. Thousands of those caught in this cruel addiction will be financially ruined. The odds are heavily stacked in favour of the online casinos, run by remorseless multinational corporations. The gambler will inevitably lose everything they gamble. Now thanks to legal online gambling, this will be available all-hours in your own home. How cruelly short-sighted and expedient is this? So the Government can generate a few million dollars in taxes and licence sales, many thousands of people will be financially ruined. The health and social costs incurred alone will dwarf any gambling tax gain. Jeff Hayward, Auckland Central. Speak out about Gaza I completely agree with all the statements made in the letter from Keith and Jo Ballagh (Herald, May 29). Being a small country, all we have is our voice, which we have used very effectively in the past. For example, helping stop nuclear testing in the Pacific during the 1980s, despite the French Government's threats to damage our trade relationship. I urge our Government to recognise Palestine as a state and a full voting member of the UN. Ineffective hand-wringing and vague comments about joining with other countries etc do not help the starving, mutilated and dying people of Gaza and the West Bank. The time is now! Those who see an injustice and turn away or delay action become complicit in the actions of the perpetrator. We have our own voice and should use it in total condemnation of the Israeli genocide now. Silence is complicity. Ruth Coombes, Auckland. Tiny setback for school lunches The school lunch programme continues as an embarrassment and frustration for David Seymour, with a report that a larva was found in one school lunch recently. However, the school lunch programme delivers approximately 244,000 lunches to schools daily. This one lunch represents 0.0004% of all lunches. Although hygiene should be of paramount importance in any food programme, this is hardly evidence of gross mismanagement to the point of being overly concerned. Let's just call it added protein. I was given banana sandwiches as a kid that were brown and mushy by the time I got to eat them. I saw, I ate and I survived! Bernard Walker, Mount Maunganui. A quick word It's going to be a long 18 months as we watch David Seymour hog the headlines as Deputy Prime Minister. What an opportune time for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to reassert his authority and call a snap election. Graham Fleetwood, Tauranga. The Holocaust: Nazis treated Jews like animals, confiscated their property, herded them into camps with unspeakable and unstoppable violence. Needing additional Zionist inhabitable space, Israel is tragically repeating its own history. Michael Howard, Mt Eden. There has been a lot written about the Equal Pay Amendment Bill 2025 but did I miss the publication of all the companies that don't pay women the same as men who are doing the same work? That is what is missing from all that has been written. Mike Wells, Kawerau. The problem with patients absconding from hospital ED units is not a crime. Patients are not prisoners and are free to make their own decisions no matter how wrong. Neville Cameron, Coromandel. When I returned to NZ after years abroad I was advised not to subscribe to the Herald as it was too right-wing. I have not found this to be the case. Your editorial (May 28) that Nicola Willis' Budget, like her $1100, dress highlights the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots confirms my view. You ask readers to consider supporting local foodbanks or social agencies. Please continue to highlight the huge gap in this country between those who can afford to fly business class and those who struggle to find a bus fare. Sarah Beck, Devonport. Imagine there's less Super, it's easy if you try, no Working for Families, it isn't hard to do, dreams Matthew Hooton (Herald, May 30) like a neoliberal John Lennon. Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.
