CLUB RUGBY: Referee has nightmare

Hora Hora got lucky on Saturday when a controversial refereeing decision not to allow a try claimed by the Western Sharks' gave them a 15-10 win and kept them in second place on Northland's Southern Districts premier rugby points table.
Even Hora Hora manager Peter Bennett said referee Dairne Fitzpatrick got it wrong when he ruled the driving Sharks forwards failed to touch down close to the posts in the final seconds of a game of two halves at the Hora Hora ground in Whangarei.
Bennett was well-placed to see the Shark attack and told the Advocate he believed they had scored.
Hora Hora had been fortunate to record a win, he said, describing the referee as "having a nightmare day".
Meanwhile, Mid Western remains at the top of the table, repeating the previous week's romp against Kamo with a 52-6 victory over Wellsford.
Kamo had a repeat of its previous lapse when it went down 6-52 against Mid Northern, which is placed third in the competition and would have moved into runner-up position if Hora Hora had not won.
At the other end of the table, after 14 consecutive quacks this season Otamatea finally broke their duck on Saturday, recording their first win by beating Hikurangi 22-15.
The win didn't save Otamatea from the bottom rung on the ladder, but it would have given them much-needed heart. Hikurangi slipped down a peg to third from the cellar.
Marist was the main beneficiary of the Hikurangi loss, moving up one to seventh place on the table with a 34-24 win over Old Boys.
In the Hora Hora-Western Sharks clash, the home team had the best of the first half, played mostly at the Sharks' end of the field. Prop Peter Crawford scored first for Hora Hora. Centre "Doc" Turuki missed the kick, but later landed a penalty and converted when No 21 planted the ball over the line in a Sharks' tackle late in the half.
Hora Hora went to the break 15-0 up.
The team's supporters, gathered at the school end of the ground, were in a relaxed mood listening to music on discs provided by ex-All Black Fred Woodman's 22-year-old son Troy, there with his father after returning from playing rugby in Italy for the past 10 months.
One of the tunes was Kenny Rogers' The Gambler, and anxiety replaced complacency in the Hora Hora camp as the Sharks returned for the second half baring their teeth and the dice rolled their way.
Play see-sawed back and forth with fierce clashes between forward packs now well matched and the Sharks were finally rewarded with a try to flanker Isa Manukau which lock Aaron Lambly converted.
Wind assistance later helped Lambly land a penalty and with time running out the Sharks besieged the Hora Hora line, but when a touchdown was claimed Mr Fitzpatrick blew his whistle for full time instead of signalling a try.
He later told the Advocate he had seen a Sharks' player pick up and go, but in the melee which followed he could not see the ball over the line.
"There were too many bodies," he said.
Sideline referee Bob Christie said rugby rules specified the referee had to see the ball grounded before a try was awarded.
Sharks' coach Miles Ferris was livid after the game, claiming the standard of refereeing throughout the match had been abysmal and the loss had upset his team's chances of challenging the leaders on the points table.
"Unfortunately, the [Sharks] boys didn't hold out in the first half, but in the second spell with the breeze behind them they played well," he said. "I don't think anyone believes we would have missed the close kick from our fulltime try and it's very disappointing it wasn't awarded."
The Sharks play Mid Western at Maungakaramea next Saturday. Hikurangi face Hora Hora, Kamo play Wellsford, Marist play Mid Northern and Otamatea could make it two wins a row against Old Boys in Whangarei.