Racial abuse sparked infamous brawl - Tamati
Former New Zealand rugby league hardman Kevin Tamati has broken a
23-year silence about his infamous brawl with Australian Greg Dowling
and revealed it was sparked by racial abuse.
Video of the punch up, just after both props were sin-binned during a
1985 Test, remains one of the most frequently replayed trans-Tasman
sporting incidents. As the players made their way towards the tunnel
firing verbal shots at each other, Tamati suddenly reacted and fists
started flying.
Tamati eventually broke more than two decades of silence on what
caused the outburst when he told TV3 just before the start of the Rugby
League World Cup that Dowling had made derogatory remarks about his
Maori ancestry. The words used included "f...ing nigger" and "f...ing
black bastard," Tamati said.
The Kiwi said he did not consider the Australian a racist and
believed the words were more a case of frustration.
But Tamati added that while he didn't regret his retaliation he was
upset that the punch up remained the incident people remembered most
from an enthralling three-Test series.
He was speaking out now because he wanted a ban on all sledging,
which he described as worse than fighting.
WELLINGTON, Sunday, AFP |