THE Takahiwai Warriors rugby league team doesn't want a bar of jail - and has gone ahead with a decision to default its first-round match against a Ngawha prison team.
The club made its opposition plain to a team of prisoners - the Ngawha Saints - being included in the Whangarei City and Districts Rugby League competition by delivering a written statement to the league's delegates meeting this week.
The letter stated that Takahiwai would default this weekend's match because of "conditions and compromises that have had to be made".
Takahiwai was due to take on the Ngawha Saints tomorrow but the start of the season has now been postponed due to an unrelated matter involving Marist (see P16).
Initially Takahiwai was upset its players would be vetted by the Corrections Department to determine whether they were allowed to play matches at the prison.
Another sticking point was that the Saints would be exempt from requirements other clubs are expected to comply with, such as fielding at least two junior teams.
A club spokesperson, who did not want to be named, said the decision to default the game was "about our club taking a stand".
"The decision is a huge one for Takahiwai. Never in our history have we even considered defaulting a match - that's just how serious an issue it is for us."
The club stopped short of defaulting all of its matches against the Ngawha Saints, and will review the decision next time it is scheduled to take on the prison team.
When the plan to include the Ngawha Saints in the competition first became public, Northland National MP John Carter said it would "normalise" prison.
"Next thing we'll be having is dances at the prison and inviting people in there for a party," the club spokesman said.
However, Whangarei's top cop, Inspector Paul Dimery, said it was a good way of integrating prisoners back into society.
We're not going to jail: team
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