The big news story on Monday was the type of headline any organisation would dread. A massive fight at a club rugby match on Saturday was significant enough to make front page news and no doubt will be the start of a reasonably long story.

I heard about the fight on Sunday. I was at a trial game for one of my sons and it was the talk of the sideline. With many other kids present, details of the fight were being recounted by many of the spectators. It was distressing to hear of such an incident.

It was good to hear that the powers that be at rugby headquarters are going to deal with the matter swiftly. Luckily for the people doing the investigation there is video footage available – this may not be so lucky for the people involved in the fight as the camera doesn’t lie and, if the verbal accounts are to be believed, some people are going to have a lot to answer for.

One of the most distressing aspects of this incident is that the game of rugby needs news like this like it needs a hole in the head. Our national game is facing some of the greatest challenges ever. When you overlay the fallout from our quarter final exit from the last world cup with an over supply of games, a diluted national provincial championship and increased competition from other leisure and sport options, this type of thing is just another kick in the guts.

Like any brand, rugby has to keep itself clean in order to withstand some of the hits it gets as a matter of course. All you need to do is look at some of the facts a figures to know that the rugby brand has some challenges. Super 14 audiences were patchy, TV viewership has been static at best, the test match in Christchurch this weekend against Italy is struggling to enthuse the local crowd. This is a test match we are talking about. The All Blacks and national icons. It’s likely we will be watching a game with large gaps in the stands. Probably one of the worst hits the rugby and All Blacks brands could get.

Rugby is no exception when it comes to facing challenging times. It’s just the way of the world that life evolves, your product reaches a certain stage in its life cycle and other options get the attention of your stakeholders. The key in challenging times, in fact at any time, is that everyone who is responsible for delivering the product needs to recognise their stake in the game and their responsibility to uphold the brand image – much of which has been built over generations.

I am sure that the clubs involved are horrified by what happened. What will define them, and everyone involved from here,  is how they deal with this issue and move on. It’s no different for any business that has to deal with a big issue. You will be judged on how you front up to it, deal with it and make measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

In this instance, given my organisation has a major stake in rugby, it’s sad to see such a grisly headline given the work I know we have to do to get people interested in the game. But the worst aspect is what it does to my mindset as a father of three boys who are very keen on their rugby. The game relies on people like us to keep encouraging their kids to play the game, drive them around the place to games and practices and give them a balanced perspective when they look at other options – of which there are many. The people involved in the incident on Saturday need to be reminded that they have a part to play in keeping the game growing and showing respect for the decades it has taken to get to this stage. Maybe they will have plenty of time to reflect on their actions from the sidelines.