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HEIDELBERG Rugby Club will appeal against a 15-year ban served on it by the South Western Districts Rugby Union after players and supporters attacked Mossel Bay Rugby Club players and match officials during a game between the teams.

The ban, prohibiting any involvement in the game by the club, is believed to be the harshest penalty served on all the officials and players of a single club in the history of South African rugby.

A seven-minute video showing players and spectators lashing out at their rivals with chairs, flag poles and fists has attracted considerable interest since its posting on the YouTube internet site.

The footage shows one Mossel Bay player being chased and beaten by a pack of about 12 people who scatter when the player’s team-mates rush in to protect him.

SWD chief executive Willie Small said it had become imperative to send “the strongest possible message that these incidents will not be tolerated”.

“This was a very serious incident. People were injured by spectators who ran onto the field armed with knives and iron poles.”

Small said Heidelberg officials had refused to co-operate fully when confronted with video evidence at a disciplinary hearing last week.

“They did not want to identify the players and spectators involved, and eventually they reluctantly named only one player.

“They also failed to take any action or institute proceedings after the game to address the incidents of misconduct. They did nothing.”

He said Heidelberg “has a history of violent behaviour” and had been serving a suspended sentence for similar incidents dating back less than a year.

“Rugby is supposed to be an enjoyable sport, not a forum for violence where peoples’ lives are endangered. Spectators do not want to watch club rugby any more because of scenes like this.”

Small said the club would be given a fair appeal hearing by an independent tribunal.

Heidelberg players who could prove they were not involved in the fracas could also appeal as individuals if they wished to continue playing at another rugby club.

Mossel Bay president Perez Julyan said the sentence was appropriate, although he felt for some of the Heidelberg players who had tried to defend his team, as seen on the video.

Julyan said the attacks started shortly after Mossel Bay kicked the winning penalty two minutes before the final whistle in an incident which saw a Heidelberg player being sent off the field for swearing at the referee.

“Somebody tried to stab me with a knife and Mossel Bay players were hit with bottles.”

Julyan said about 10 criminal charges had been laid with the police and it was possible that some Heidelberg players could still be given life bans, “which they deserve because they could have killed someone”.

He said the day had turned into a public relations disaster for Mossel Bay because the club’s sponsors had been invited to the game for a “VIP day”.

Heidelberg secretary Cynthia Geldenhuys confirmed that an appeal had been lodged, but said the club had decided not to talk to the media “before we know where we stand”.

Police spokesman Captain Malcolm Pojie said an off-duty police inspector, the match referee and an assistant referee were among the people injured and who had laid charges. It was possible that further charges would be laid.