A second peaceful rugby game in Taranaki

The second of three Rugby World Cup games being hosted in New Plymouth has passed off peacefully.

USA took on Russia at Stadium Taranaki this evening. There were no arrests but two people were evicted from the stadium due to intoxication and a third was refused entry into the game.

The officer in charge of the Rugby World Cup for New Plymouth, Inspector Blair Telford, said: "The weather wasn't overly kind to the Taranaki this evening, but it was still a good spirited crowd and Police didn't have any major issues to deal with either inside or outside the stadium."

"We hope that the rest of the night goes as smoothly and the third and final game on the 26th rounds off a successful hat-trick from a policing perspective."

Unfortunately one rugby fan is in an Intensive Care Unit having suffered a serious neck injury in a road crash en route to the game. The 61-year-old man from Tauranga was the driver of one of three vehicles involved in the crash and was airlifted to Taranaki Base Hospital following the crash at 4.25pm. No-one else was injured.