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TV3 rugby reporter Kevin Sinnott's attempt at a humorous piece of reporting from the All Blacks tour of Europe ended in the broadcaster apologising to the NZRFU.
Sinnott, on tour with the All Blacks, claimed in last Tuesday's 3News that All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith had told the team before the Munster game that he played in the 1978 historic loss to the Irish club.
Smith actually made his All Black debut in 1981 and had not played in the match at all.
However, Sinnott mistakenly claimed Smith had lied to the team, a comment not appreciated by the NZRU.
The following night, 3News broadcast an apology to the team during the sports bulletin.
Sinnott did not want to comment publicly yesterday but it is understood he blames the incident on a miscommunication.
It is understood he met Smith following the controversy to try to patch up any problems.
Sinnott has been reporting rugby since he started at Newstalk ZB in Wellington in 1998.
He has been at TV3 for four years.
TV3 spokesman Roger Beaumont confirmed that an apology had been broadcast, but said it was not at the request of the NZRFU but rather from "discussions".
"We screened an apology on Wednesday night for our coverage, for some comments made during our coverage on Tuesday night's programme and that apology was for comments that suggested Wayne Smith was part of the 1978 All Black team that played Munster and clearly he wasn't part of that.
"It was a decision that we made as a result of those discussions. We decided the apology was appropriate. There definitely wasn't a request for an apology."
