The former Kiwi rugby league player leapt into the crowd to protect women and children from fans, after brawls broke out in the stands during a game.
Junior Sa’u was one of several players who jumped over the fence and attempted to stop women and children being hurt during the scuffle on Monday.
The match, that was underway between Salford Red Devils and Huddersfield Giants, was at John Smith’s Stadium, north England.
One bystander told the Mail Online that a bunch of “mindless idiots” started to cause trouble at the start of the game, and that some of the players’ families were being pushed and shoved.
“The players, rightly in my mind, jumped in to defend them,” she added.
Junior confronted one fan after jumping over the barrier (image via Twitter)
Lesley Kaneen, who was there with her elderly father, said that there were young children crying, and that Junior’s wife was in the crowd “clutching her young baby to her chest” as the brawl ensued.
“I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it at a rugby game before, and nor has my dad who has been going for 50-odd years.”
Football hooliganism is a long-documented problem in the U.K., though this is more often associated with soccer than it is with rugby league or rugby union.
Salford Red Devils wrote on their Twitter page: “We’d like to apologise for the behaviour of some of our fans today. We’ll be working with @Giantsrl to find those involved. We do not condone any behaviour of the sort.”
Owner of the Salford club, Marwan Koukash, wrote on twitter: “The Thugs responsible will be identified and dealt with. There is no place in RL for them.”
Other fans expressed their shock at the brawl (image via Twitter)
28-year-old Junior has a history of coming to the aid of others. In 2009, he was praised for helping a 15-year-old girl who was being assaulted in Waratah, New South Wales.
