Stranded for brother's All Black debut

By PATRICK GOWER

LONDON - Most New Zealanders would consider missing their little brother's All Black test debut because of a bureaucratic tangle tantamount to a national emergency.

Yet unfortunately for Nathan Smith, the New Zealand High Commission in London does not. It has turned down his application for an emergency passport to see his brother Conrad start at centre for the All Blacks against Italy in Rome tomorrow.

Mr Smith's reason - that his passport is unable to be retrieved from among 40,000 other applications for English driver's licences - does not fit the High Commission's definition of emergency.

"This is without a doubt the biggest game of my brother's life," he told the Herald. "I just can't believe that rubbish English bureaucracy and New Zealand's tight grip on what is just a slip of paper are standing in the way of me being there to see it."

Late yesterday, after Herald inquiries, the Department of Internal Affairs offered a last-minute reprieve to Mr Smith, saying it would do its best to get him to the game.

Spokesman Tony Wallace said staff in London would try and arrange a limited passport that would be valid for a certain period.

Mr Smith, 28, had sent his passport away so he could rent a car to drive from his London home to Cardiff for the Wales test - a trip planned long before hearing his brother had even made the squad.

He then realised that his 22-year-old brother, one of the development players on the tour, could be named to face Italy. This was confirmed in a call from their father on Tuesday.

He immediately called the British Driver's Licence Association and was told there was no way the passport could be found. He then tried the High Commission with what he admits was a silly lie that a brother had medical problems in Italy.

"I was panicking and I just had it in my head that an emergency passport was what I needed and a sick relative was the only way I was going to get it. I called the same lady back pretty quickly and told the truth."

But the truth was not enough, and the application was declined.

Mr Smith was considering going to the Driver's Licence centre in Swansea with other brother Heath - who has a passport - and protesting in person until the document was returned, then making a late dash for Italy.

The former Taranaki fullback has missed all his brother's Super 12, NPC final and Ranfurly Shield appearance while he has been abroad working as a pharmacist in London.

His brother's selection has already postponed a planned London reunion this month for the pair, who have not seen each other since Nathan lost a leg in a traffic accident this year.

He said Conrad called him from the All Black camp on Wednesday night and was disappointed to hear he might not be there.

"I just told him I'll get there. I didn't mention it might mean taking a fishing boat to France and cycling through the Dolomites."