Marist win appeal against points loss

An appeal by Marist against their premier division rugby side being deprived of 14 competition points because of a breach of the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union's player transfer rules has been upheld.
They will not only retain their points but have also been reinstated as the winners of the Chris Kapene Memorial Trophy for being the leading premier division side at the end of one full round of matches.
However, the $1000 which also goes to the Kapene Trophy winner will not be awarded to Marist. A three-person appeals committee appointed to hear the Marist appeal has decided that because Marist should take some responsibility for what it labelled a technical breach of the rules it should become the property of the council of clubs for distribution as they see fit.
The Marist appeal came after a sub-committee was appointed by the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union's council of clubs to hear a complaint from two clubs alleging that Marist had included a non-transferred player (Charlie Naera) in their opening three matches of the season against Puketoi, Eketahuna and Masterton Red Star.
That sub-committee ruled that not only should Marist lose the 14 points they secured from those games but that they should be allocated to their opposition, which meant five points going to Puketoi and Eketahuna and four to Masterton Red Star. It also meant Marist would not be declared the winner of the Chris Kapene Memorial Trophy, or receive the $1000 which went with that success.
In their findings released to the Wairarapa Times-Age yesterday the appeals committee noted the main drive of Marist's submissions was there was no deliberate act by Marist that led to the breach of the rules.
Marist argued they registered the player at the start of the season, gave clear instructions to their players of the process of any transfer required (this seems to have been ignored by the player), and that the player appeared on every team sheet (there was no attempt to hide his participation).
They also argued that, like nearly all clubs, Marist were run by volunteers and the consequences of such a significant penalty would have a severe impact on both current volunteers and the ability to recruit volunteers by all clubs, that the player himself would feel great responsibility to his team-mates and club, that the punishment did not fit the crime, that the actions of the union compounded the error and the impact of the decision would have a major bearing on the position of other clubs.
The appeals committee said there was some discussion as to the impact of the player on the outcome of the relevant games. For example, there was a clear margin of victory in the match with Puketoi while in the Masterton Red Star game the player had appeared only for the last three minutes as a substitute.
''It is, however, the position of this committee that it would be unsafe to consider the impact of any one player on any game. In the circumstances we did not consider those factors relevant to our decision.''
The committee noted that awarding points to teams involved would affect the positioning of other teams. For example, as the points stood after round one (without the deduction of points from Marist) Marist were first with Masterton Red Star and Carterton second-equal. If points were deducted from Marist and awarded to teams they had played, the result would then be Masterton Red Star and Eketahuna four points ahead of Carterton.
The Marist submissions also provided examples of, in their opinion, prior inconsistencies with the application of the rules.
''We would differentiate most of these decisions as being circumstances where a discretion was exercised by the CEO rather than rules being ignored or in part by any hearing committee appointed by the union. We note Marist's frustration with the seemingly inconsistent approach,'' the appeals committee said.
On announcing their decision the appeals committee noted that while there had been a technical breach of the rules they were minded to accept Marist's submissions as to natural justice and prior precedent in respect of the matter before them.
In part the appeals committee decision reads:
''This appeals committee finds that the punishment in these particular circumstances does not fit the nature of the crime. Under the current circumstances the blanket application of the punishment to strip Marist of their points would be unfair.
''This appeals committee feels that the team and players would be punished rather than the club who, after all, should take some responsibility for the failure to follow the transfer rules correctly. The appeals committee also finds themselves persuaded by prior decision and the precedent that earlier decision created.
''Accordingly the decision of this appeals committee is that Marist will have 14 points reinstated to their competition total and that none of Puketoi, Eketahuna or Masterton Red Star shall receive the additional competition points awarded in the decision of the WBRU.
''The Marist premier side will receive the Chris Kapene Cup. ''However, it is the position of this appeals committee that the Marist club itself must take some responsibility for the technical breach of the rules on this occasion. With that in mind it is the decision of this appeals committee that Marist will not receive any prize monies ... for the winning of the first round of the club competition, rather we feel those club winnings should revert to the council of clubs for distribution as they see fit.
''It would be the desire of this committee that those monies are made available to the benefit of all players playing in our club competitions and in particular for any injured player funds or charities for injured players which the council of clubs may deem appropriate.
''The appeals committee also feel that the player should take some responsibility for his non-transfer. We note that the player was stood down for one game and given that step was taken we do not think it appropriate for further action to be taken. This decision, however, should be taken as written censure of the player and a reminder to him and all players they also must take some responsibility in such matters.
''Finally, it is the belief of the appeals committee that the council of clubs rules require urgent review, in particular as to setting out procedures and processes to be followed where matters do not fall under the NZRFU 'Black Book'. ''This appeals committee is acutely aware of the volunteer nature of the members of the council of clubs and the clubs themselves. We do not intend this recommendation to be a criticism for we appreciate that we are all volunteers working for the good of the game. However, we believe it would be to the benefit of everyone involved in local rugby if more certainty for the application of the rules was provided.''Standings in the premier division are: Carterton 44, Eketahuna 44, Marist 44, Masterton Red Star 40, East Coast 34, Martinborough 31, Gladstone 21, Greytown 15, Puketoi 10 and Pioneer 0.