Bourke turns back on Hawke's Bay

1.00pm

Former Hawke's Bay rugby utility Colin Bourke said he will never play for the province again after he helped Bay of Plenty wrest the Ranfurly Shield off Auckland.

"I said when I left the Bay last month I may return in the future when Hawke's Bay are in the first division.

"But the way key Hawke's Bay officials are acting they're not ready for first division," Bourke said.

Bourke, who came off the bench in Bay of Plenty's 33-28 win against Auckland on Sunday, was commenting on Hawke's Bay chief executive Ian Condon's claims Bourke was ineligible to play for Bay of Plenty.

"I was told the transfer matters were all resolved last week," Bourke said.

Condon had said that Bourke was still a Hawke's Bay player.

"We haven't signed any documents completing his transfer. There's a small technicality, a money matter, which needs to be sorted out and it can be sorted out very quickly," Condon said.

Condon rang his Auckland counterpart David White shortly after Sunday's match to point out the alleged breach.

The New Zealand Rugby Union appointed Wellington Queens Counsel Bruce Squire to investigate whether Bourke was eligible to play in Sunday's match for Bay of Plenty.

All affected parties had until 4.30pm yesterday to make submissions.

NZRU deputy chief executive Steve Tew said Squire would release his decision on the matter this week.

Potential outcomes include Bay of Plenty being fined or docked NPC points if they were found to be in breach of the regulations.

White said Auckland considered Bay of Plenty the rightful holders of the shield.

"We will not be involved in any form of protest," White said.

"We've got absolutely no expectation to get the shield back, even if there was a technicality," he said.

- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY

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