Fien allegiance row may cost Kiwis
Monday, October 30, 2006 - 5:58 PM
New Zealand is in danger of being stripped of its two Tri-Nations competition points as the row over the eligibility of Queensland-born Kiwi Nathan Fien escalated on Monday.
Fien, who was born at Mt Isa and previously represented Queensland in State of Origin, played his second Test for New Zealand on Saturday, featuring at hooker in the Kiwis' 18-14 win over Great Britain in Christchurch.
He had originally been permitted to play for the Kiwis after saying his grandmother was born in New Zealand.
International rugby league rules state a player can qualify for a country if any one of his grandparents was born there.
But it has since been revealed it was Fien's great-grandmother who was born in New Zealand.
Australian Rugby League chief executive Geoff Carr confirmed on Monday night the sport's four-member international executive would discuss the situation - possibly overnight - to decide whether Fien should or should not be eligible to play for New Zealand.
If Fien were ruled ineligible, Carr said it would then be up to the Tri-Nations sub-committee to decide what action, if any, would be taken against New Zealand.
One scenario could be that the Kiwis would be stripped of their two competition points.
The international executive comprises Colin Love (Australia), Richard Lewis (Britain), Selwyn Bennett (NZ) and NRL chief executive David Gallop.
The three-member Tri-Nations committee is Love, Lewis and Bennett.
Carr said emails and messages had on Monday been sent to Lewis - who is still in England - about discussing the issue.
New Zealand chairman Selwyn Bennett, however, played down the situation on Monday.
"There's nothing in it," he told NZPA.
"The issue is only being sought by the press.
"I haven't heard from Great Britain and I haven't heard from Australia and I don't really expect to."
Bennett said whether the birth certificate produced to prove Fien's eligibility was of his grandmother or great-grandmother, was irrelevant.
"When we first named him in the team, Australia asked us to produce a birth certificate which we did and that's where the matter stopped," he said.
"We can't see anything in it.
"The rules state grandparents, it doesn't state grandparent.
"That's the way the rules are written."
Source: AAP