'Don't make me laugh': Police Minister suffers broken ribs in rugby game

Author: Tom Rose,
Publish Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2026, 11:41am

A charity sports event between politicians and local players over the weekend met a sore end for Police Minister Mark Mitchell, who came off the field with two broken ribs.

MPs from across the aisle came together on Saturday to take part in the “Rumble in Russell” event, a biennial event raising funds for the Rugby For Life Charitable Trust (RFL).

Descending on the Northland town of Russell, politicians competed against RFL Invitational teams in either rugby or netball, with the former captained by ex-All Black captain and New Zealand First candidate Taine Randell and Dame Jenny Shipley serving as the latter’s technical adviser.

The parliamentary rugby team was co-captained by Mitchell, Simon Watts and ex-Labour MP Peeni Henare, while Customs and Seniors Minister Casey Costello of New Zealand First led the parliamentary netball team.

On social media, Mitchell said both the “Parliamentary Ferns” and the parliamentary rugby team were outplayed by the Russell Sports Club’s two sides.

Still, he lauded them for jumping into vehicles and travelling 15 hours north from Wellington after flights were cancelled, describing it as a “fantastic weekend for a really special cause”.

He said he learned he’d been “roasted” by Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning for “the fact that I busted a couple of ribs”, but confirmed he would still be in Parliament ahead of a “busy week”.

“If you are sending me a message, please don’t make it a funny one,” Mitchell said.

“You know what it’s like when you’ve got a couple of broken ribs. Laughing is the one and coughing are the two things that you want to try and avoid.”

Appearing on Newstalk ZB’s breakfast show, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was surprised to learn of Mitchell’s injuries.

“Are you serious?” Luxon said to Hosking.

“No, you’re having me on. He hasn’t even bothered to text me though ... He must be ashamed.”

Luxon said he’d often been asked to join the parliamentary rugby team, “and as much as I think I’d be a great first five or winger ... we are legends in our own mind at this age and stage, right?”

“So these guys get kitted up and out they go for a bit of a run, and yeah, they blow their hamstrings and something else gets happening,” he said.

“So I reckon about five of them will be missing [from the Cabinet meeting], I suspect.”

On social media, Watts – the Minister of Revenue, Climate Change, Local Government and Minister for Auckland – said it had been an “outstanding weekend” on the field.

“It was a privilege to co-captain the team alongside a fantastic group of current and former MPs for a cause that shows the power of rugby to change lives,” he wrote.

“A huge thank you to everyone who made the weekend possible.

“Rugby has always been about more than the game. It’s about teamwork, resilience, service and giving back.”

The "Rumble in Russell" event on the weekend raised funds for the Rugby For Life Charitable Trust. Pictured is Police Minister Mark Mitchell (right) with media personality Andrew Saville. Photo / @helencastles

The event aimed to promote and support the work of RFL, which helps under-resourced local clubs and their communities achieve positive outcomes in health, training, education and employment.

“Volunteer burnout’s a bit of a big deal these days, so we provide some resources to clubs that need a little bit of glue,” RFL deputy chairman Riki Kinnaird told RNZ’s Checkpoint.

“Generally on day one that’s a little bit of money to pay the insurance bill and help market to get volunteer coaches etc.”

“[Long term] we help roll out macro programmes such as training, education and employment, and I think we got jobs for 100 people over the last six months.”

The parliamentary team went down 22-10 to the invitational side.