THE image of junior sport in our region has taken another hit, with a young rugby player from Cowra suffering facial injuries on Wednesday night.
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Less than a week after the brutal Astley Cup brawl involving players from Dubbo College and Orange High School dominated headlines, more teenagers are potentially facing sanctions from their game's governing body and police
The Cowra Eagles under-17s had travelled to Narromine to play the Gorillas juniors and while nothing untoward took place during the match, the events post-match have drawn the attention of police in three towns and rugby authorities.
Eagles players boarded their team bus and were leaving Narromine when an object, believed to be a glass ashtray was thrown through the window.
The matter was reported to police at Parkes later in the evening.
"About 7.15pm the team bus was travelling south along Alagalah Street in Narromine when it was followed by vehicles believed to be containing players from the opposing team," Acting Inspector Vince Robinson told the Daily Liberal.
"One of those vehicles has come alongside the driver's side and thrown an object at the bus, which has caused a 16-year-old victim to lose a tooth and have several others chipped. He also had cuts to the chin and forehead.
"The matter has been disseminated to police at both Cowra and Narromine for them to continue their investigations and speak to any people involved."
Central West Rugby Chief Executive Officer Peter Veenstra said his organisation would wait until officers in both towns had completed their investigations before making any judgements.
"The matter is subject to police investigation but we understand it happened some distance from the ground," Veenstra said.
"It's a concern for us obviously because the victim is a young rugby player but we'll have to wait and find out if the offenders were players as well.
"The Cowra player with injured teeth will be covered by ARU insurance despite the fact that it didn't occur at a rugby ground.
"If it's [the incident] found to be connected to players from Narromine Junior Rugby, then Central West Junior Rugby will investigate.
"But we will wait until whatever police action occurs as we don't need to muddy the waters of their investigation."
