Horowhenua StarA Foxton man is trying to reinvent an adult version of a children’s game deemed so dangerous it’s been banned at most schools in New Zealand since the late 1980s.
Mark Phipps, who is keen to revive bullrush.
Photo Paul Williams
Bullrush was popular among schoolchildren for generations until a spate of broken bones led to a widespread playground shutdown.
Mark Phipps, 56, comes from a generation who played bullrush during school lunchtime, and he has always looked back fondly on those days.
He says he woke one night with the idea to adapt the game to suit adults, a hybrid version of the original bullrush involving two teams of nine players, two referees, a scorer, and an ambulance.
“Safety will be paramount. Absolutely. We want to do this properly,” he says. “There will be injuries though. Of course there will be. It’s a contact sport.”
Mark put feelers out on social media recently for volunteers to participate, but not enough players turned up to make a team.
Not to be deterred, he’s printed team uniforms and wants to now approach rugby and rugby league clubs with the view to staging a game.
“Maybe we need to dangle a cash carrot as an incentive,” he says. “Rugby league versus rugby union?”
In inventing new rules adapted for a team version he wanted the game to have structure.
Two teams of nine players will play on a zoned field. One player in each team will be the “bull”, while another will have a tackle pad and be the “blocker”.
Every other player has the freedom to either take down opposition players or the “bull” through tackling, or by getting to the other side themselves by evading tackles.
Five points are scored for getting the bull across the line, with one point each for every other player to make it home.
Mark, who is a painter/plasterer by trade, says ultimately he wants to create a product that people could watch online.
“I’m really proud of this. It’s created huge interest. I think maybe people want to see it in action first,” he says.
Players would have to wear mouth-guards but headgear would be optional.
The original game of bullrush involved one or two people standing in the middle who tried to tackle the other players as they ran through to the other side.
They pick out one player first. If that player makes it to the other side, that player would yell “bullrush” signalling the other players to run through en masse.
The game originated in New Zealand, though in the great pavlova tradition, it’s often claimed by the Australians.
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