Ref whistles up a storm

By Chris Rattue

Referee Paul Honiss strongly defended his decision to award three penalty tries in yesterday's NPC clash at Carisbrook, where Otago staged a remarkable 39-37 comeback win over North Harbour.

Honiss, who will referee at the World Cup, made New Zealand rugby history in awarding the penalty tries between the 60th and 75th minutes, the last two helping Otago overcome a 15-point deficit in the final 14 minutes.

North Harbour are winless after four rounds and facing another disappointing season, yet they controlled almost all the match at Carisbrook, and scored two bonus points.

While Honiss said he would not cry off making tough decisions, there was a feeling that he backed himself into a corner with the first decision when he punished Otago for being offside in what seemed a rare penalty try ruling.

Otago were not blatantly preventing a try, and ball-carrier Slade McFarland did not seem certain of crossing the line.

And when Honiss later awarded one of two penalty tries to Otago, he used hesitant hand signals, which threw more confusion into a bizarre rugby afternoon in the Dunedin sunlight.

It created a finale in which Otago wing Brendan Laney, who missed a fulltime sideline conversion in the draw against Southland last week, had two late opportunities to snatch the victory with long-range penalty kicks.

Laney missed with the first but then nailed a 47m shot in the final act of the game.

It was a match surrounded with drama. It was supposed to be record-holding test lock Ian Jones' final match in this country before he joins the World Cup squad and Gloucester.

But he pulled out on Saturday evening when it was feared his three-month-old child had meningitis. Young Flynn Jones was later cleared of that illness.

And Harbour coach Wayne Shelford rushed from Dunedin to Rotorua after the match to be with his father, who is seriously ill.

For the 9000 spectators and the television audience though, it will be a match to live in the memory.

North Harbour shied away from any strong criticism of Honiss, with assistant coach Allan Pollock saying they would view the match video before making their report.

But one blazer-wearing North Harbour official questioned the penalty try decisions and whether Honiss should be going to the World Cup, which was probably a more accurate reflection of Harbour's true feelings.

And the referee's decision to rule out a late Karl Te Nana intercept try for offside was also questioned by Pollock and captain Frano Botica.

Honiss said he had given the first penalty try to North Harbour for Otago encroaching offside because it forced McFarland to alter his course towards the line.

The referee said one of Otago's penalty tries had been awarded for a similar offside offence against Harbour No 8 Ron Cribb, and the other when North Harbour tried to kill the ball by going over the top at a ruck.

"It's a gut feeling. Referees know when a try would probably have been scored," Honiss said. "It's not as if you go into a game thinking you want to stamp out professional fouls.

"But as a referee you can't abdicate your responsibilities. You can't back off, otherwise teams are going to take advantage. You have got a responsibility to referee the game as it unfolds."

Honiss also defended his 75th-minute decision to call back Te Nana, who grabbed Mat Carrington's pass and was heading to the line with North Harbour leading 37-36.

Pollock claimed Otago had called for an offside penalty, but Honiss had deemed the Harbour players legal. Honiss said later he had been referring to the players at the ruck, although Botica claimed his fellow backs told them Honiss was looking at them when he made the call.

But Botica said: "We created a lot, but I'd rather create nothing and win. This is pretty gut-wrenching.

"We had enough opportunities to win the game in the first half. Then you wouldn't have to worry about those late penalties."

Otago fired up in the final stanza, with prop Joe McDonnell and replacement No 8 Mat O'Connell prominent. The final work was left to Laney, who had taken over the goalkicking after Tony Brown departed with a bleeding nose.

"I lifted my head a bit with the first kick. I had visions of me blowing it again," Laney said. "I was just rapt to get the second one over. Everyone is writing us off because we are missing the All Blacks and this will give us confidence."