Rugby club’s two protests upheld

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33606, 7 August 1974, Page 14

Rugby club’s two protests upheld

The Marist Rugby club lest evening won on a technicality two games it had lost on the field of play. Because opposing sides had fielded unregistered players,

Marist was awarded the senior game against Merivale-Papanui and the fifteenth grade game against Shirley by the management committee of the Canterbury Rugby Union. The Shirley and MerivalePapanui clubs admitted the offences in their letters of explanation, and Mr J. K. Torrance said the committee had no option but to uphold the protests. But Marist was also the subject of a protest by the Linwood club, which claimed that Marist had Included seven members of its under 19 side in the fifth grade team last Saturday. This caused some confusion among committee members. Mr Torrance said the under 19 grade was below fifth grade, so it was nermissable for Marist to have taken the action—provided that the players had not had four or more games in the higher grade. However. Mr L. J. Russell, the competitions committee spokesman, said it was an unwritten rule that the under 19 grade followed the junior grade, and was therefore above fifth grade. “We have to specify our gradings if we are in doubt about them, and get the order into the rule book.” Mr Torrance said. It was decided to ask Marist for an explanation. SUSPENDED FOR FIGHTING An eighth grade player, ordered from the field for fighting, was suspended for two playing Saturdays by the management committee of the Canterbury Rugby Union last evening. The committee cautioned a ninth grade player who had been sent off for a dangerous tackle. Two players who did not appear were stood dowh. They were M. Luke (Lyttelton, junior grade) and S. Rahul (Otautahi, third grade). Mr B. J. Drake said a serious back injury, suffered at work, had prohibited Luke’s appearance.