Parents of teen who died playing bull rush 22 years ago want community to condemn Run It trend
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga / Photosport
There are mounting calls for sports stars and influencers to come out publicly against the dangers of the run it straight craze, including from the family of a man who died of head trauma over 20 years ago.
This week Palmerston North 19-year-old Ryan Satterthwaite
died when he was injured in a tackle game
with friends.
His uncle Pete has issued a
public plea
for rugby and rugby players, and social media influencers, to use their platforms to speak out about the risks.
That plea has received further backing.
William Cranswick was also 19 when he died after suffering head injuries in a game of bull rush following a night drinking at notorious Palmerston North bar The Fitz in September 2003.
The tragedy 22 years ago was brought back home to his parents Rod and Belinda this week when they heard the news of Ryan Satterthwaite.
"Ryan's death really touched a raw nerve with us. These deaths are highly preventable," Rod Cranswick said.
"We totally understand the suffering and pain that Ryan's family are going through. It's a parent's worst nightmare."
Rod and Belinda Cranswick heard Pete Satterthwaite's call for action on RNZ.
"We endorse Pete's comment. I thought he spoke very very well and right to the point re sports stars condemning this behaviour," Rod Cranswick said.
"It's not up to the politicians to legislate, but this is a community responsibility and everyone needs to step up to the mark and condemn this activity."
He said that would even extend to, for example, people walking past a park who might see something taking place.
"I think if someone does have the guts to go and say, 'Listen, this can lead to a tragedy. This has already happened on a couple of occasions.' Just have the guts to try and influence them to stop it."
Ryan Satterthwaite.
Photo:
And influencing people to stop taking part in Run It was what Rod Cranswick hoped people with public recognition would do, so the message got through.
"Young people are really influenced by social media and also sports stars - they have a huge influence on our young. They are the role models and followed religiously.
"We need to listen to our medical experts, who are also condemning this behaviour.
"In our case having to switch off Willie's life support because of a severe brain injury was our worst nightmare."
At Ryan Satterthwaite's old college, Palmerston North Boys' High School, Rector David Bovey had already planned to speak to students about Run It this week.
Like a growing number of schools it's banned the craze, and Bovey said when news about Satterthwaite came through it added weight to the warnings.
"I spoke to the seniors again yesterday about the risks involved. We talked about Ryan and the fact that could be any one of the boys sitting in front of me, because [they] don't think about consequences, it's as simple as that.
"What seems like a bit of fun can have a devastating impact, as we've seen."
This week's incident was top of mind at the school, so much so that when there was a collision on the school's courts between two students some immediately asked if they were playing Run It Straight. They weren't.
"But, I guess with what's happened there's a really heightened awareness of what's going on. I don't think it's going to stop kids from playing, but we've told the boys categorically not to get involved in it at school."
Bovey also backs the call for people with social media presence to speak out.
Principals' Federation vice-president Jason Miles said even children supposedly too young to use social media were influenced by it, although the Run It craze hadn't spread too far through primary schools.
When a viral craze arose, knowing when to say something was tricky.
"It can be a catch 22, because if you talk about them you're also informing children about them, including those who haven't had access to them.
"It's a balancing act that principals need to take because it's looking at the safety of the children who are perhaps being influenced, but also trying not for it to be a wider problem."
There is no nationwide edict from officials to schools about Run It.
Ministry of Education leader of operations and integration Sean Teddy said schools had autonomy to make rules on many matters.
"We know that health and safety is a priority for all schools, and we are confident that the decisions they make will reflect their strong commitment to creating safe, supportive, and inclusive environments where all students can thrive."
He said the ministry was available to provide advice and guidance where needed.
"While schools are not required to inform the ministry of the rules they adopt, we would expect schools to communicate with and, where appropriate, consult their parent communities as part of the decision-making process."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Sports News for 28 July 2025
A huge first quarter helped the Mainland Tactix to their maiden ANZ Premiership netball title. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
The greatest rivalries in sport - Auckland v Canterbury and the battle for the 1980s
Rugby, in fact, was relatively late to the idea of championships. New Zealand only got a national provincial championship in 1976, with rugby until then a series of traditional annual fixtures combined with ad hoc arrangements made between board chairmen. The Ranfurly Shield was both in the centre of the rugby room and frustratingly out of the reach of most. When the NPC did arrive, it was not necessarily dominated by the biggest unions. Bay of Plenty won the inaugural championship under the guidance of Eric Anderson and in the first five years there were five different winners, with Canterbury, Wellington, Counties and Manawatū following BoP's footsteps. By the time 1982 rolled around, Auckland, the largest union in the country by some margin (it still had all the North Harbour clubs at that stage), had still to win. Canterbury had won just once. If anything, Wellington, with their star-studded backline, were the strongest of the main centres, though they were rudely shocked when Canterbury stormed Athletic Park to win the Shield in 1981. As a country, the start of the '80s was a time of monumental change. In 1981, the Springbok tour literally divided the country with barbed wire. In 1984, the Fourth Labour Government would start a process of deregulation that forever altered the country's economics. Auckland, with its new skyline of construction cranes and high-rise buildings, was the obvious benefactor. The rugby and societal changes would combine to foster the domestic game's greatest rivalry, one that with the gradual diminishing of the provincial game, will never be equalled. It all coalesced with a match described with only the merest hint of hyperbole as The Game of the Century. After years of underachievement, John Hart, a yappy little former halfback from the Waitemata club, who worked at corporate behemoth Fletcher Challenge, got his hands on the team in the blue and white hoops. In the same year, the Ranfurly Shield holders turned their team over to a gruff Omihi farmer who'd come through the classic Canterbury path of boarding at a posh school, in his case St Andrew's, before returning to the land. Alex Wyllie, a former All Black and part of the infamous 'Black Hat Gang' on the controversial 1972-73 tour to Great Britain and Ireland, had little time for yappy halfbacks. This was the age of Grizz and Harty — two men who could not have been cut from more different cloth and who perfectly embodied their home provinces. The teams they created were in many respects cast in their own image, but in other ways contradicted it. Auckland might have been slick and corporate in comparison to their Mainland rivals, but they were not soft. Canterbury might have been more hardbitten and callused, but they were not without flair and mischief. They represented provinces with a natural suspicion of each other, though the disdain mainly flowed in one direction. This was the age when the pejorative term JAFA arrived, when the country perceived Aucklanders to be living in an episode of the show Gloss that would arrive midway through the decade — all big hair, shoulder pads, cocktails and lattes. As Auckland seemingly boomed, the rest of the country wasn't doing as well, especially those places that relied on manufacturing. The rural-urban divide, magnified by the different attitudes to the Springbok tour, was widening. Auckland, with its multicultural, financial outlook, was increasingly seen as a land apart. Wrote Grant Fox in The Game The Goal: 'It is a risky business to be seen in some way to be defending Auckland these days. There has been, in varying degrees of intensity, a complex out there about Auckland and Auckland rugby. I think it has something to do with success… something to do with the big city thing. It is unmistakably there.' As the rivalry developed, it was almost like Hart had Auckland, Grizz had The Rest of New Zealand. In 1982, Hart took Auckland to their first NPC title. Canterbury were second by the barest of margins. They actually beat Auckland at Eden Park, but a draw against 1979 champions Counties proved costly as Hart's men won the championship by a single point. The following year the balance was restored, with Canterbury romping through the season unbeaten, the highlight being a 31-9 pasting of Auckland in the Ranfurly Shield challenge on Lancaster Park. Perhaps nothing illustrates how much rugby has changed as the fact this scoreline was seen as seismic. Said Wayne Smith, who was playing first five-eighth, in Grizz - The Legend: 'We were in the tunnel, ready to run on to the field, and Grizz suddenly grabbed my jersey and said, 'Run it from everywhere.' You know, he just had a feeling, maybe he'd seen something in the Aucklanders' eyes, maybe he just knew we were at our peak and could tear them apart.' A lot of the country rejoiced at Auckland's embarrassment, as this was a team that was just starting to gather a swagger. Grant Fox was controlling things with metronomic accuracy at first-five, while John Kirwan, a blond butcher's apprentice plucked from third grade, was rampaging up and down the wing. Andy Haden, the Whetton twins and John Drake were marauding in the pack. If Canterbury were great in '83, Auckland were ridiculous the next year, winning nine out of 10 and compiling a points differential of +361. They put 50 on Waikato, 53 on Manawatū, 65 on both Bays, Plenty and Hawke's, but most staggeringly of all, they scored 32 for the loss of just three when they smashed Canterbury. Fans were already salivating at the prospect of a Shield challenge the following year. They got their wish. Canterbury were going for a record 26 defences when Auckland rolled into town. Lancaster Park was packed to the gunwales, with kids lining the dead-ball lines by the end of the game, which would create iconic images. It was such a febrile atmosphere that the Canterbury players ran to each side of the ground to thank the crowd before the match. It didn't help. Auckland rinsed the home team in the lineouts and sauntered to an unbelievable 24-0 halftime lead. From Grizz - The Legend: Wyllie wasn't angry about his team being down 24-0 at halftime, more sorry for them. They weren't losing with dignity. Victor Simpson noted there were no recriminations. 'He came out, grabbed the ball, said, 'Look, they scored their points with this, so can you'.' Slowly, then quickly, the Cantabs got back in the match as Auckland started to fluff their lines. As time ticked down, Canterbury scored two tries in two minutes to close the score to 28-23. With time up Smith hoisted the ball to the heavens. It eluded flailing fullback Lindsay Harris and bounced high into the in-goal with Craig Green, Kirwan and Fox in pursuit. The ball bounced Kirwan's way and he palmed it dead and referee Bob Francis whistled the game over. Auckland celebrate winning the Ranfurly Shield from Canterbury in 1985. The Cantabs were left to ponder their slow start while the rest of the country, watching live on Sport on One, marvelled at the spectacle. Wrote Graham Hutchins in Magic Matches: 'Everyone won something at Lancaster Park in 1985. Auckland the Ranfurly Shield, Canterbury undying respect. And for once the media hype was right. It was, in all probability, that most elusive and ephemeral of any rugby promoter's dream — the match of the century.' The rivalry continued, though the main characters would soon shuffle off, with Hart and Wyllie becoming Sir Brian Lochore's assistants in the inaugural World Cup success. After some tortuous politicking, they would end up as co-coaches of the 1991 campaign where their oil-and-water personalities would ensure it was never a happy, cohesive or successful campaign. There were flashpoints in the NPC, particularly in 1990 when Canterbury contrived to ensure there were no scrums following the sending off of hooker John Buchan in the fourth minute. His replacement, Phil Cropper, (there's a name worth googling), informed the ref he was unable to play in the front row and weirdness ensued on the field and friction off it, where Gary Whetton insinuated that Canterbury were not real men. In 1996, with the birth of professional rugby, the rivalry shifted to the Blues and Crusaders. The essence was still there, but it was never quite as piquant. Professionalism flooded the game with money, so the them-and-us element of playing Auckland was never as strong. If anything, the Crusaders, not Auckland, have taken on the role of 'Them'. - Words by Dylan Cleaver
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Early Sports Chat for 28 July 2025
An update on what's happening in the sports world with Nathan Rarere. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
