Cake Tin final has ingredients of a classic

By CHRIS RATTUE

Hang on to your hats, because the NPC final is shaping as the maddest ending to the domestic season since ... maybe ever.

The shape of things to come was provided in round three, when in a helter-skelter game at Eden Park, Wellington scored a 46-42 win over Auckland.

Now after some wild semifinal rides, those teams meet in the final at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night. They last met in a final in 1999, another World Cup year, when Auckland won at Eden Park.

The common factor in the semifinals was that home sides Waikato and Otago, with strong and experienced forward packs, were un-done by the exuberance of inexperience, as Wellington and Auckland kept the ball alive, and away from grinding confrontations.

Waikato will also claim, with some justification, they were un-done by referee Gary Wise.

Coach Ian Foster labelled him "inept," saying five bad decisions, including the sinbinning of captain Jono Gibbes, cost Waikato the game.

Gibbes said yesterday that he felt he had let his team-mates down, but believed it was a harsh decision to be sinbinned for his comments.

"I know refereeing is a tough job. I did it once, for 10-year-olds, and I'll never do it again," Gibbes said.

"But it is their job, that's what they train to do. Jason Spice had been lying on the ball in a tackle and I asked him [Wise] if that was the same thing he'd been penalising us for in the first half - give or take a few expletives."

The New Zealand Rugby Union will consider Foster's comments today, in light of their rules demanding such strong criticisms be made through official channels.

And there is more to the refereeing controversy. Auckland are understood to favour Wellington referee Lyndon Bray controlling the final.

There is an unwritten convention that a "neutral" should be in charge. With four New Zealanders officiating at the World Cup, Bray, Wise and Bryce Lawrence are the remaining professionals and, on recent form, Bray is clearly the best.

NZRFU assistant chief executive Tew suggested tradition would probably be followed, but because the World Cup year did not constitute normal circumstances, Bray's appointment remains a possibility.

The big question hanging over the final is whether gung-ho Auckland second five-eighths Sam Tuitupou, who has a shoulder problem, will play. Tuitupou has been an on-again, off-again proposition for weeks, and was only ruled out during the warm-ups on Saturday night.

Players to previously experience the same problem, such as former Auckland and All Black forward Charles Riechelmann, found it cleared up suddenly but only after some months.

Wellington have no major injury concerns, believing Riki Flutey will have recovered from the knee injury which saw his early exit from the semifinal.

Gibbes believes Auckland will repeat their final win in Hamilton a year ago.

"I knew Auckland would beat Otago - they are on a roll. They've had a couple of good weeks," he said.

"Auckland have got a few guys in there who have played finals football. They'll know how to get through this week and be a bit better prepared."


NPC points table