BOURKE'S ELIGIBILITY SUBJECT OF NZRU INVESTIGATION
Wellington, Aug 16 - The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) has appointed a QC to investigate whether Bay of Plenty's Colin Bourke was eligible to play in yesterday's dramatic win against Auckland. Loose forward Bourke came off the bench to help Bay of Plenty beat Auckland 33-28 and take out the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in the club's history. NZRU deputy chief executive Steve Tew said Queen's Counsel Bruce Squire would sit as a subcommittee of the NZRU board to decide whether Bourke had been properly transferred from Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. "Under the regulations governing the NPC, it is up to the NZRU to determine whether there has been a breach of any of the regulations,'" he said.

All affected parties have until 4.30pm tomorrow to make submissions.
Tew, who said Squire would release his decision on the matter later this week, added that until then it would be inappropriate to speculate on any potential outcomes. Earlier, Bay of Plenty dismissed speculation they could lose the shield over a fielding an ineligible player. Their stance was given an unlikely boost, with Auckland adamant they do not want rugby's most famous provincial trophy returned because of a technicality.

Hawke's Bay chief executive Ian Condon said Bourke had not been properly transferred from his union. It is understood Condon also rang Auckland chief executive David White shortly after yesterday's match to point out the possible breach of the rules. White today made it clear Bay of Plenty were the rightful holders of the shield. "We will not be involved in any form of protest," White said. "We've got absolutely no expectation to get the shield back, even if there was a technicality. We were beaten fair and square. "If there are any technicalities, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) will go through it, but the shield will stay in Bay of Plenty."

Condon claimed Bay of Plenty had not completed the paperwork for Bourke's transfer, and when the 19-year-old came off the bench five minutes into the second half yesterday, Bay of Plenty were in breach of NZRU regulations. "As far as I'm concerned, he's definitely a Hawke's Bay player," Condon said. Hawke's Bay were paid a $15,000 transfer fee for Bourke on July 19. However, days after they received that, the union demanded an extra $1500 reparation from Bourke for a bonus they'd given him for making the New Zealand sevens team. Bay of Plenty approached the Players' Association and the NZRU for clarification.

With the shield match approaching, Bay of Plenty opted to repay the money on condition the transfer papers were faxed from Hawke's Bay to NZRU headquarters as soon as possible. The $1500 was deposited with the Hawke's Bay union last Wednesday, and office staff from both unions confirmed the money had gone through. Bay of Plenty chief executive Paul Abbot was confident his union had worked to the letter of the law, and the fault lay with Hawke's Bay.

"Bay of Plenty manager Craig Morris has a letter from Hawke's Bay academy manager Liam Barry saying once the $1500 was repaid, the loan would go through, so we paid the $1500,'' Abbot said. "There has been no complaint laid as far as I know. I'm bewildered on the whole thing, to be honest." Bay of Plenty yesterday left Auckland with both the shield and four NPC competition points. It is those competition points which may be in dispute as New Zealand union officials consider the issue. "If there was a breach we would expect they would do something. We don't expect the shield back. They beat us fair and square and the shield should stay in Bay of Plenty," White said. "However, it could have an impact on points."

A precedent was set last year when North Harbour were stripped of their points for playing South African halfback Alcock in two NPC matches before his international clearance had arrived. Alcock played in North Harbour's 15-3 win over Wellington and their bonus-point loss to Southland. Wellington appealed after the NZRU originally fined North Harbour $7500.
NZPA

Storm in a teacup you would think, and hardly one deserving of stripping a Ranfurly Shield. It is also interesting that Mr. Condon is claiming that Bourke is "definitely a Hawke's Bay player"... yet he didn't notice that Bourke played a game for the Bay vs. Harbour last week. Yet he noticed enough to ring the ARU AND the DominionPost RIGHT after full time. AND he seems to have problems with playing his part with documentation...

So, what do you think? You can tell us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ... or... EVEN BETTER you could tell the people involved:
 
Contact Person: Ian Condon
Contact Title: Chief Executive Officer, Hawkes Bay Rugby Union
Mobile Phone: 0272 442 015
Fax: (06) 835 4630
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
You could thank profusely the Auckland Union through their website for their sporting behaviour: http://xtramsn.co.nz/sport/0,,9657,00.html
And you can congratulate the BoP through here: http://www.boprugby.co.nz/contact.htm