Bay of Plenty are adamant they were robbed of a chance to score an historic NPC win over Auckland by linesmen incorrectly rubbing out a penalty kick.
BoP goalkicker Glen Jackson is certain his 59th-minute penalty cleared the bar, a score that would have had his side trailingby 9-10 at the International Stadium on Saturday night. And the Auckland camp have conceded that had BoP touch judges Matt Peters and Bryce Lawrence ruled the penalty over, they would have accepted the decision. Auckland got the win, 10-6.
"It was too close to be certain but there is enough conjecture around to suggest there may be something in it," said Auckland manager Derek Sampson.
Had the penalty been ruled good, promoted BoP may only have needed a further penalty or drop goal to add Auckland's scalp to that of champions Wellington. The Bay turned down a late penalty shot at goal in an effort to score the try which would have secured them victory.
Jackson said he thought at the time the kick had gone over, and a review of the match tape confirmed his belief.
"We had three players chasing the kick and they thought it had gone over and our reserve players who were warming up were all certain as well," said Jackson."The way Carlos Spencer caught the ball also seemed to show he thought it went over. I hit it low, which I do sometimes, but I'm certain it went over. We were a little bit disappointed about it.
"Still, we're very happy to have five competition points already. If you'd said at the beginning of the season we'd have that after two games, we'd have been very happy."
BoP chief executive Jon Brady said: "It could have had a major impact on the game. But it's just one of those things - you get the ups and downs in rugby. We accept that the touch judges and referees' decisions are final."
