Ex-cop in rugby ban has son at Grammar

Neil Grimstone helped decide on the length of the brawl bans. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

One of the four disciplinary committee members who ruled on the schoolboy rugby brawl has a son at Auckland Grammar.

Neil Grimstone, a former detective senior sergeant, helped to decide on bans of between 10 and 16 months for five Kelston Boys High School students after last Saturday's fight.

Four Auckland Grammar students received six-week bans, meaning they will miss the secondary schools final against Mt Albert Grammar at Eden Park today.

Mr Grimstone's son plays hockey for Auckland Grammar.

The Auckland Rugby Union, which convened the disciplinary committee, said yesterday that Mr Grimstone had declared before the panel met that his son was a Grammar boy.

Chief executive Andy Dalton said Mr Grimstone had spoken up at the hearing.

"He advised all parties and said if it was a conflict of interest he was happy to remove himself from the proceedings.

"All parties accepted the declaration, and he was not asked to remove himself."

The Herald tried to contact Mr Grimstone yesterday but he did not return our calls.

Va'aiga "Inga" Tuigamala, who with fellow former All Black Michael Jones has criticised the discrepancies in the bans, said the relationship didn't "paint a good picture".

"If that is the case, it is definitely a conflict of interest.

"[Mr Grimstone] is a senior man. He's been in the police. Surely he knows this should have been dealt with. I'm sure a lot of people will be asking questions.

"Maybe it would have been in his best interests to step down. Certainly from the outside looking in, it doesn't look good."

Tuigamala said the committee should have made all the video footage of the brawl public so people could make their own decisions about where the blame should lie.

Auckland lawyer John Foliaki agreed that Mr Grimstone should not have been on the disciplinary panel.

"That provides legal grounds for an appeal. It's a conflict of interest. He should have stood down. It gives rise to an allegation of bias."

Mr Foliaki, who knows families of some of the boys in both teams, said he already had a suspicion committee members had a connection with Auckland Grammar.

"Before I heard this [about Mr Grimstone] I was saying, 'I wouldn't be surprised if there were some Grammar old boys on the committee'. It's what the bloke on the street was saying."

Lawyer Garth Gallaway, who represented South African Johan Le Roux over his ear-biting of Sean Fitzpatrick, agreed.

"While there is no basis for questioning Mr Grimstone's integrity, I think you can certainly question his wisdom in sitting on the judicial committee in such circumstances."

Michael Jones said the matter could not end with the punishments.

"There are some key people in our communities who are keen to pursue this out of principle."

Labour MP David Cunliffe, whose New Lynn electorate includes Kelston Boys High School, has added his voice to the groundswell of anger over the verdicts.

Mr Cunliffe said he hoped the Kelston players were considering appeals against their lengthy bans.

The "least guilty" Kelston boy had received a sentence six to seven times longer than the "guiltiest" Grammar boy, the MP said.

"I respect the role of the ARU disciplinary panel, but something about this ruling doesn't seem right, even though the ARU says it has judged each case on its individual merits."

Up to 100 spectators and players were involved in the five-minute brawl at the semifinal match. Auckland Grammar won the game 20-9.

The Auckland Rugby Union yesterday defended the punishments.

It said the playing schedules of the two teams meant a six-week suspension for Auckland Grammar students could result in their missing the same number of games as a Kelston student suspended for 10 months.

The committee said the number of games scheduled for players in Auckland representative squads was also taken into account.

The suspended players had seven days to appeal against their sentences. A union spokesman did not know of any appeals having been lodged.

Kelston Boys High has suspended seven players, five from the 1st XV and two from the 2nd XV, from school for their role in the brawl.

Auckland Grammar headmaster John Morris said on Thursday that the school would consider if suspensions were warranted.

By last night, it had not announced a decision on the issue.

Security guards will be at today's final, but the rugby union said this was usual at Eden Park.

Mr Grimstone, who was involved in several high-profile cases, resigned from the police in 2007.