New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has joined the condemnation of the "run it straight" rugby tackle challenge that has gone viral on social media after a teenager died from a serious head injury earlier this week.

A 19-year-old New Zealander has died of a "serious head injury" sustained in a social media-inspired game of tackle with friends, police said. The young man, identified in local media as Ryan Satterthwaite,

New Zealand Rugby have issued a statement after a teenager died in what his family says was a "freak accident" while playing a rugby-style tackling game.