Shield stays in Bay

By CHRIS RATTUE

Bay of Plenty have survived the Colin Bourke debacle arising from their historic Ranfurly Shield win over Auckland, but are considering contesting the $4000 penalty imposed on them.

Bay of Plenty are upset with the decision released yesterday, even though they will keep their NPC points and the shield. New Zealand Rugby Union-appointed QC Bruce Squire found fault in their transfer dealings and fined them $3000, with $1000 costs.

Squire ruled Bay of Plenty broke eligibility regulations by playing Bourke, but said the breach had been careless and not deliberate.

Bourke came off the bench in the 33-28 win at Eden Park, sparking post-match drama when Hawkes Bay chief executive Ian Condon alerted Auckland chief executive David White, who in turn rang the New Zealand Rugby Union.

Auckland were left in a no-win situation, whatever their rights may have been. Had they cried foul on a technical point, there would have been calls of bad sportsmanship.

White refused to contest the result, saying Bay of Plenty won the shield fair and square. He declined to comment on Squire's ruling yesterday.

Squire's decision threatens to fall in no man's land, with Bay of Plenty at fault yet escaping a significant penalty - despite a recent precedent.

Last year, North Harbour lost NPC points when they played South African Chad Alcock, who had not been cleared properly, even though the delay was at the South African end.

And Northland opted to leave out Australian Julian Huxley against Otago last week because his clearance was in doubt.

On receiving the decision, Bay of Plenty chief executive Paul Abbot went to the training ground to inform delighted coaches and players.

But Abbot was unhappy his union was blamed and fined. He asked the NZRFU about appeal procedures and will consult his board and its lawyer.

"There is a huge element of relief ... when I told the players the shield and the points were safe they clapped," said Abbot. "But the clear understanding we take from the decision was that the exchange of correspondence was satisfactory.

"I'm not happy about the process that has been gone through and I'm not happy with how they have approached the decision.

"We'll let the guys concentrate on Sunday and then we'll sit down and decide where we go to from here."

Bay of Plenty acquired Bourke on a loan-to-transfer deal because his move was outside the designated transfer period in November.

Bay of Plenty agreed to the $15,000 fee, plus $1500 to repay a bonus Bourke received under his Hawkes Bay contract.

Bay of Plenty deposited all the money with Hawkes Bay four days before the shield challenge on Sunday.

Abbot and a Hawkes Bay staffer talked by telephone, but Condon told the inquiry that the employee had failed to draw his attention to the final $1500 having been deposited on August 11.

Had he known, Condon said he would have signed off the deal "immediately". Instead, Condon completed the documentation after the Ranfurly Shield match.

In his judgment, Squire said letters between the unions before the match did not complete the transfer, and "it follows that Bourke was ineligible ... "

He also states: "There was an unacceptable degree of carelessness by the BOPRFU in meeting what was, in the circumstances, a fundamental and important obligation."

The drama has caused bad blood between Hawkes Bay and Bay of Plenty. Bourke says he may never play for Hawkes Bay again.

Abbot would not comment on Condon's post-match call to Auckland, saying: "Don't get me started on that one."