A South Auckland rugby club that screened the historic test match between the All Blacks and Samoa to a crowd of around 300 people did so illegally by "stealing" the broadcast feed.
The Otahuhu Rugby Club attracted the ire of broadcaster SKY TV after a Herald report noted that the club's broadcast dropped out in the 72nd minute when the match was in the balance. A SKY representative contacted the Herald to point out that club was not in fact a customer. Instead a person associated with the club had taken their personal decoder to the clubrooms, which was illegal.
"This is piracy, a form of theft," SKY's spokeswoman said. "The fact is that its taking something you have not paid for."
Otahuhu president John Roache said the club had had simply wanted to provide an opportunity for members of the community to watch the match and had not made any money from screening it.
A flier advertising the match said tables at the club could be purchased for $150 and light refreshments would be provided. However Mr Roache said the club had not organised the event or distributed the flier. Only about three tables were sold and the money from that was used by the person who took their decoder to the club for the hire of a big screen and to pay a band that provided the live music.
