2.30pm
SYDNEY - A streaker, who held up an Andrew Mehrtens penalty attempt in the Bledisloe Cup rugby test in Sydney, said the All Black goalkicker has no hard feelings about the incident.
New Zealander Aaron Bain was one of two streakers who ran on to the field during the match
won by Australia 16-14 in Sydney last Saturday night.
Bain took a phone call from Mehrtens at his home in the Sydney suburb of Manly yesterday.
Rather than getting an earful from the first five-eighth, Bain found himself indulging in some light-hearted banter.
"He just said I owe him a beer and owe New Zealand a big fat apology," he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
He told Mehrtens, who is with the All Blacks in South Africa preparing for the Tri-Nations test against the Springboks in Durban on Sunday morning (NZ time), that he was sorry for the incident.
"If I put you off the kick, I'm feeling pretty bad about it."
Bain, 27, a delivery driver formerly from Queenstown, and fellow streaker Brett Mutton ran on the field with 20 minutes to go in the test.
The All Blacks had just been awarded a penalty for a high tackle and Mehrtens was trying to extend his team's three-point lead with a long-range shot in difficult, swirling conditions.
He went on to hit the ball wide for one of four misses from seven attempts that night.
Bain said the main regret he had about his streak was that New Zealand were kicking for goal at the time.
"If people think it's my fault that New Zealand lost the game, it's not true," he said.
"It's 80 minutes of rugby and New Zealand were winning 11-8 at the time."
While Mutton was arrested and charged, Bain was fined on the spot because he co-operated with police after being ejected from the stadium.
The two men had a Vodafone logo painted on their bodies and the telecommunications company faces questioning from police over its involvement in the incident.
- NZPA
All Blacks test schedule/scoreboard
