By GRAHAM REDDAWAY
Auckland club rugby's big game of the weekend, between leading teams Suburbs and Otahuhu at Avondale Racecourse, ended in bizarre fashion.
With Suburbs leading 24-23 and time up, Otahuhu skipper of the day Tupe Fanolua lined up a shot at goal from a penalty 38m out. And when
it sailed between the uprights he threw up his hands in elation.
But standing on the spot from where the kick was taken, referee Mike Elliott wiped it out, indicated a scrum and then whistled the end of the game, leaving Suburbs incredulous winners.
Hardly anyone on the ground saw an Otahuhu player clearly in front of Fanolua as he took the kick. But Elliott did and under the laws of the game he had no choice.
Nine penalties had been awarded in the last three minutes, seven of them to Otahuhu. With time almost up Elliott resisted the temptation to sin-bin one player for persistent offending.
For the other 77 minutes the two sides had fought an absorbing battle, with Otahuhu setting the pace in the first half and leading 14-13 at the break after two tries by busy flanker Misa Matele to one by Suburbs wing Lia Tuamanavao.
Flanker Nisifolo Naufahu scored for Suburbs in the second half to give the westerners an 18-17 lead but Fanolua's boot kept Otahuhu in the game, until that last act.
Ponsonby scored eight tries and swamped Waitakere City 58-3 to take the championship lead from Suburbs. Marist came off the bottom of the table with their 28-11 win over Pakuranga, Grammar Carlton held third place by beating Teachers Eastern 34-7, and Waitemata overcame stiff resistance from University to win 25-16 and occupy fourth spot.
Eden retained the top of the second division with an all-penalty 12-3 win over Papatoetoe.
