Video footage shows a woman being punched in the face after rugby fans came to blows at Newlands. [GRAPHIC VIDEO].
|||Cape Town - Two video clips are making the rounds on YouTube, revealing how a woman was injured as she tried to stop a fight between spectators at the Stormers and Crusaders match at Newlands at the Easter Weekend.
The beginning of one clip, which was recorded at close range, shows spectators standing as an argument starts between two men.
The woman who was injured in the punch-up that followed tries to intervene and to reason with the hostile parties.
The woman, whose seat is below the two men, stands facing them.
Within seconds, the fight escalates, with more men joining in, coming from all sides.
Pushing and shoving, at least eight men can be seen throwing punches, with one burly man punching from behind.
The burly man hits the the woman in the face as she tries to stop the fighting by pushing him away.
The impact of the blow sees her body bouncing back and her head hits a chair in the Railway Stand, hard.
A woman comes to her aid, but the victim lies motionless.
Later, paramedics put on a neck brace and use a stretcher to carry her away for further treatment.
ER24 spokeswoman Vanessa Jackson confirmed that ER24 had been at the scene, but she was unable to give details on the severity of the woman’s injuries.
Howard Kahn, spokesman for Western Province Rugby, said he was aware of the video clips but was not allowed to comment.
The Cape Argus was unable to reach Western Province Rugby managing director Rob Wagner on Sunday.
His phone was switched off.
Last week, the Stormers were booed as they exited their team bus before the match.
And later, as the post-match presentation ceremony took place on the pitch, the tension in the Railway Stand, where the video was filmed, boiled over into a fist fight between fans.
In the restroom at the stadium, a Cape Town psychologist, who reportedly spoke to one of the Cape Crusaders asking why he supported the New Zealand team, was told: “F*k jou, jou wit n**i.”
The Crusader supporter reportedly continued: “You white f****ers abused us for decades. Now, those black f***ers are doing the same.”
Sharon Poole of Kuils River, who is a New Zealand supporter and who was at the game, said she was mocked and heckled by Stormers supporters for wearing a Crusaders jersey.
She said she had witnessed the fight on the Railway Stand that was captured on the video clip.
natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za
Cape Argus