Rugby: Reneging on a deal just not on

Make a loan arrangement with the bank and it is most unlikely they will allow you to renege on the deal. In rugby, though, the rules are different.

Eroni Clarke's NPC shuffle between the cities of sulphur and sails was one example, while talk about Auckland also pulling back Samiu Vahafolau from his loan to Northland seemed unfair.

When Auckland put Clarke out on loan to the Bay of Plenty, they claimed they had adequate midfield cover in case of any injury. The former All Black centre went with their blessing and good luck.

Bingo, a week later he is back in Auckland. One midfielder had gone walkabout and was dropped to the development squad so they called Clarke back.

They also let Rico Gear go (he had been in the Auckland squad) and topped that up with To'o Vaega. It could have been coincidence, but the losses in trial games to Canterbury and Northland seemed to have caused a greater midfield review for Auckland than they did a few weeks before.

But BoP got a rough deal. Having been smart enough to suss out Clarke's availability and then clinching the deal, they were then smacked in the face and told to give him back.

Sorry, not good enough, a deal is a deal. However, the NZRFU needs to make the loan rule more flexible so that if there was a real emergency - and we will assume Clarke is answering an SOS rather than any panic call - a player such as Clarke can still go back to BoP once he has helped to bridge a crisis.

Under the present set-up, once Clarke even sits on the Auckland bench at Eden Park tonight, he is ineligible for a loan. However, had he played six games for the Bay this year and then Auckland got an injury crisis, he could have been recalled.

It is about as lopsided as some spectators' attitude at Wellington Stadium after the All Blacks' one-point loss to the Wallabies and the unbalanced blame being directed at the referee for that defeat.

The use of an official timekeeper and the removal of running time from television coverage and replay screens at grounds would help to defuse some of the grisly behaviour of fans and critics after what had been a superb contest. If there was any unease it had to be that one team can win a drawn series. The All Blacks have benefited from that scenario, but when the Bledisloe Cup series is shared one-all, and only then, what better excuse is needed for a decider?