Harbour's referee plan gets a caning

By CHRIS RATTUE

Auckland coach Wayne Pivac has given an "F for fail" to a North Harbour call for referees to be given new powers enabling them to put players on report.

Leading referee Paddy O'Brien said the concept did not have wide support in SANZAR circles.

And New Zealand Rugby Union assistant chief executive Steve Tew said rugby had to be mindful of the effect new rules had at various levels so players and spectators did not become confused.

But he said the report system might be considered again.

Harbour chief Doug Rollerson made the call after his side and Southland were reduced to 13 men at one stage during Saturday's NPC clash in Invercargill.

No 8s Ron Cribb and Paul Miller were sent off by Bryce Lawrence, and Troy Flavell and Jason Rutledge were yellow carded, even though a linesman played down the significance of the 68th minute brawl.

Cribb and Miller will face a judicial hearing tomorrow night.

In rugby league, the report system gives referees the option of leaving a player on the field and having an incident reviewed later, reducing the risk of error.

But Pivac said: "We've got a separate game from rugby league.

"We have a referee, two sideline officials and a process where people in Wellington sit and watch the game in its entirety.

"We have a fair judicial system ... referees only send guys off when they are 100 per cent sure. It's like a penalty try. They're not going to order a guy off because they think he might have done something.

"Putting on report would be doubling up. I've got no problem with the way it is handled now."

O'Brien said the issue had been on the SANZAR agenda for a few seasons, and referees and coaches had been among those consulted.

O'Brien said the issue was first raised in SANZAR as a way of protecting even contests between teams of 15, rather than questioning referees' decisions.

And Tew said: "It's a classic example of where our game sits - if you asked 10 people right now you'd get 10 different views.

"Rugby is different to rugby league. League is more clear-cut and there are many more collision points in rugby.

"We need to keep rugby as simple as possible - you could end up with a very long report card."

Tew said officials handled the Invercargill brawl "pretty well" and he was delighted with the clean nature of rugby these days.

Meanwhile, Pivac said NPC teams had been told no World Cup All Blacks would be available this weekend.

"We'd love to have Kees Meeuws, Steve Devine, Daniel Braid. But the All Blacks have stuck to their word like clockwork, informing us every Friday, so we can't argue with that," said Pivac.

Auckland are hopeful key back, second five-eighths Sam Tuitupou, will return for Saturday afternoon's clash against Waikato at Eden Park.

Tuitupou has a mysterious shoulder complaint. Scans reveal no damage and he had improved movement at training yesterday.

Prop Nick White, who has had a calf injury, is set to play his first NPC match of the season.

Hooker Richard Kirke and utility back Tasesa Lavea are also in line for selection after injury.

Pivac said turnovers were Auckland's Achilles heel in their loss to Wellington, but the loss of Tuitupou had a major effect.

"We gave up 30 turnovers and the hardest time to defend is from turnovers," he said.

Otago prop Carl Hayman could make his return from injury for their match against Canterbury at Carisbrook on Saturday. He missed the win over Bay of Plenty last Saturday after straining knee ligaments against Southland on August 23.