Rugby: Spotlight on officials as Waikato sneak into final

The refereeing from Keith Brown (pictured) and Chris Pollock had too many differences from accepted practice. Photo / APN

Canterbury will chase a third straight title while Auckland will ponder the repeat cruelties of the national sport.

Instead of heading south on Friday for the decider, Auckland will go through agonising examination after they were edged - for the second time by Waikato this season - as competition finalists.

Equally gutting for Auckland and coach Mark Anscombe was that this defeat, like the round-robin loss to Waikato, came in injury time.

Anscombe was incensed by a number of rulings he thought unfairly punished his side. He may have a case, as the refereeing in both semifinals, from Keith Brown and Chris Pollock, had too many differences from accepted practice and the rulebook.

But Auckland got a huge piece of fortune once they clawed back into the lead midway through the game at Eden Park. A kick from captain Benson Stanley was charged down but ricocheted to Brent Ward, who surged on and drew the defence for Chay Raui to score in the corner.

The superb sideline conversion from nifty five-eighths Gareth Anscombe, his seventh success from 10 attempts, gave Auckland a 37-28 lead with 12 minutes left.

Waikato's Trent Renata goaled a penalty then a final golden oldies scrum was set because of a late injury to Auckland tighthead Charlie Faumuina.

That blunted one of Waikato's attacking choices, but they battered away at the line until substitute hooker Hikairo Forbes edged across the whitewash.

Well into injury time, Renata stepped up for the conversion to match Dwayne Sweeney's match-winning try in August.

The 22-year-old Renata had had a mixed night with his radar, a nasty duckhook blunting his confidence.

But from close range, 15m right of the posts, he kicked the Moolos into the final and Auckland into despair.

This match had more grunt than the opening semifinal frolic in Christchurch, where Canterbury and Wellington shared 98 points and some baffling rulings.

Wellington were aggrieved referee Brown did not see prop John Schwalger score by the posts, but like Pollock at Eden Park, the officials seemed to operate a laissez faire method of officiating.

There were significant areas of grievance in both ITM Cup first division semifinals, where some perplexing standards of judgment continued.

Defenders rarely seemed to comply with the offside line at the breakdowns, giving them a healthy advantage. Halfbacks were seldom hauled up on the accuracy of their scrum feeds, while tackled players were either not allowed to release possession or hold it illegally.

Scrums have become untidy again as referees' tolerance has risen, while quick lineout throws can punish great kicking escapes and setpiece interest.

At Eden Park on Saturday, Auckland and Waikato were battered.

Auckland lost lock Andrew van der Heijden before the game with a broken arm, then lock Liaki Moli with a dislocated shoulder, wing Dave Thomas to a neck injury, Faumuina to an assortment of damage, while Tom McCartney was seeing stars for a fair chunk of the game.

Waikato had their wounded, too, but managed to hang tough.

They were loose to start with and could not find the same rhythm they had in their last clash with Canterbury. But they bashed on.

Lock Romana Graham got across the chalk twice, replacement wing Michael Speight finished a move Sitiveni Sivivatu would have struggled to convert even if fit, and then Forbes snailed and snorkelled his way across a few precious centimetres of Eden Park turf.

It was the third and most crucial clawback for Waikato in their search for a title to go with the their last triumph in 2006.