KEY POINTS:
Let's call a spade a spade.
Hawkes Bay beat Wellington thanks to, and in spite of, the most disgraceful piece of rugby thuggery since who knows when.
The judicial committee must respond appropriately and put the Hawkes Bay prop Clint Newland out of the game for a long
time.
It made for an unfortunate weekend for the rugby codes, what with the Bulldogs' biting incident in NRL league.
Newland's attack on Wellington and All Black prop Neemia Tialata was so bad that you wonder these acts should face the law.
Newland smashed the unsuspecting Tialata with a long-reaching punch which knocked him out as a lineout broke up. After laying prone, Tialata staggered off McLean Park, and did not return.
This was a violent assault with not even a hint of self-defence involved. Yet Newland was able to carry on his merry way, and even managed to incite a later scuffle.
Newland's act almost certainly affected the result, especially as Wellington were out-scrummed in Tialata's absence. Hawkes Bay would have surely lost if Newlands had been sent off in the 14th minute.
Yes, Hawkes Bay's 8-6 victory will be touted as a triumph for the underdog and a long-awaited uprising in the provinces. And yes, it has those heartwarming elements. The rest of the Magpies were magnificent.
Hawkes Bay are an old powerhouse left in the lurch by professionalism, perhaps unfairly but also because that's what professionalism in sport tends to do to some of the weak.
Yet it is extremely hard to rejoice on this occasion because of the circumstances, and I'll lay the cards on the table here. The TV commentary team were negligent, brushing past Newland's brutality. You wondered if the rugby union PR department and the commentary box at Napier were one.
Let's go through the cast of characters. It seemed inexplicable that the match officials, led by referee Bryce Lawrence, did not see the punch. But these things happen in a flash, there is so much for officials to watch and the punch was thrown way off the ball. Maybe TV match officials should be required to report such incidents.
Over to the commentary team of Steve Davie, Willie Lose and Ian Smith, who gloried in the Magpies win.
Maybe it was a misjudgment. But apart from a mandatory replay and initially identifying Newlands with a suggestion he might be out for a week or two, they completely ignored the severity of the incident and its effect on the game. It was like, hey presto, it never happened.
This extraordinary piece of violence was never even mentioned during the halftime or post-match summaries. There were no reports on Tialata's condition, better replay angles or explanations why no other video existed. What's a piece of thuggery when you've got turnovers and lineout steals to report on?
It is not a comfortable business, questioning the work of others in the commentary game. People in glass houses, etc. But this was an open and shut case which called for TV scrutiny and outright condemnation.
In the TV era, where some commentators delight in picking referees apart and cameras spot fingernails on chalk lines, this non-coverage left an uneasy feeling.
What of Wellington? Their coach Aussie McLean has remained silent, not wanting to take the gloss of Hawkes Bay's triumph. Aussie - get out the sandpaper of truth and no matter how rough it sounds, rub away to help us all see the reality. Forget rugby's old code of silence.
Because violence like this has no place in any game. It was especially sickening that the player was permitted to carry on after what looked like a planned hit.
As for Newland and Tialata, they have clearly defined roles. One is a disgrace to his game, the other a victim.
Saturday's incident raises interesting issues over our prejudices. What will the commentator and public reaction be if, say, a South African prop lays out Carl Hayman at the World Cup?
What would be the reaction, say, had Newland decked star back Dan Carter with such a savage blow? What, you might ask, would be the reaction if Tialata, from a silver spoon province, had laid out Newland, from the wrong side of rugby's tracks?
Violence is violence. Newland's punch belongs in the hall of shame and not only marred his side's win, but could be seen as the reason for it.
It is hard to quickly recall similar incidents in the professional era. This punch echoed notorious attacks by men such as All Black Mark Shaw and New South Wales frontrower Steve Finnane many moons ago.
It is too late for Wellington to receive true justice but the judicial committee must stick Newland in rugby's slammer for a long spell.