Two a penny

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A rugby referee has been king-hit by a spectator holding a baby, after a controversial end to a game in Auckland.

The attack happened during a Samoan United Rugby Shield game between the Auckland Eagles and Laulii Liona at Williams Park in Mangere at the weekend.

Tournament organiser Moe Mata’afa said the event happened after the Eagles scored the winning try in injury time before one of the Laulii players made a late tackle.

Auckland rugby referees manager Mike Elliott confirmed the incident and said it was being investigated by the disciplinary committee.

Mr Mata’afa said that, soon after, as the referee stood in the officials’ tent talking to some of the players, the man - understood to be a spectator - entered the tent and punched the referee from behind.

As the referee spoke with the Laulii captain after he awarded the Eagles a penalty, he was allegedly abused by one of the Laulii team’s support staff and ended the game. . The man then fled…”

“But it wasn’t a real [bad punch] because he had a baby in one hand. they were talking to him in the tent and someone just from nowhere punched the referee.

Mr Mata’afa said they had called police but the unidentified man had already fled.”

He believed the incident was sparked by the referee’s decision to end the game won by the Eagles 14-12, early.

The tournament is played following the regular rugby season and consists of teams made up by players from the same villages in Samoa.

He said the incident was the first of its kind in the tournament’s six-year history.

Mr Elliott said the referee had not suffered any serious injuries and would referee again this weekend.

It was made up of Auckland and Counties Manukau club and secondary school rugby players.”

Otahuhu Senior Sergeant Laurie Culpan confirmed the assault but said they had not located the offender.

“We would like to find the culprit but a member of the public is pretty hard to find when they disappear into the woodwork.

Mr Culpan said since it was not a serious assault, the enquiries were being left to the Auckland Rugby Union, with police to act on any information provided by them.

“Police were called but obviously by the time we got there the spectator had disappeared, which is fairly common for these sort of things,” he said.”

He said the rugby union had measures they could take such as bans on individuals or standing clubs down in order to get the person to come forward.

“As you can imagine from our perspective, everybody’s gone, there are that many lines of inquiry for a minor assault, it would chew an inordinate amount of police time.

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The Office of the Auditor-General says there are no grounds for an inquiry into Finance Minister Bill English’s housing arrangements. .

The Auditor-General’s conclusions were predictable, Mr English says.

“Importantly, the Auditor-General concludes that the current parliamentary system is designed to establish whether an MP maintains a current residence outside Wellington, rather than where an MP lives in an everyday sense.

“I welcome the Auditor-General’s confirmation that I correctly completed my declarations and provided other information as required to claim Wellington accommodation costs.

The report called for a “simple and sensible” system for providing MPs and Ministers with support for the costs of their accommodation while in Wellington.

Mr English came under fire after it was disclosed he received more than $900 a week in allowances while living in his family home in Karori, twice what he was able to claim for living in the same house as an Opposition MP.

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Southland celebrated a “once in a lifetime” Ranfurly Shield win in style in Invercargill on Tuesday with thousands turning out for the traditional tickertape parade.

The Stags players were rapturously received as fans crowded both sides of the main street.

A weekend of partying flowed into the formalities as the heroes were feted in the deep south.

Southland won the famous Log o’ Wood for the first time in 50 years last Thursday night when they upset holders Canterbury 9-3 in Christchurch. There are a lot of people here, it’s great for the community,” Southland co-coach Dave Henderson told Radio Sport from the back of one of the floats involved in the parade.

“She’s pretty exciting. Once you do these sorts of things .

“There are 50 years of players that have gone through before us - 30 or 40 challenges have come up with nothing…. this might only happen once in a lifetime . you have to celebrate them in a bit of style which we are doing today..Then to see them turn up at the airport the next day and now to see thousands here cheering us on, it’s quite emotional for some of the guys.

“It was such a thrill to see the faces of the fans at the game with the support we got up there in Christchurch.

The challenge for Southland now is to stay on track in the Air New Zealand Cup where last week’s win had taken them into the semfinals.”

Henderson admitted it had been a long weekend full of partying.

Henderson said the team had trained well on Monday and would face a big hitout on Wednesday. . We have focused on celebrating the Ranfurly Shield but we have also focused on the next Saturday in Wellington because we want to go the next step,” said Henderson.

“I don’t think some of the boys remember arriving back at the airport.

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A bank customer is being praised by Hamilton police after he responded to a call for help and chased a robber today.

Police said the robber, believed to be unarmed, demanded money from a teller in the Hamilton East branch of the BNZ about 10.

As the robber fled with his money, the teller called for help and a man in a queue behind the robber chased him. .

Detective Dion Bennett said it was a gutsy call by the customer.

He pursued the robber down Grey St but lost him when he turned down an alleyway to the rear of Sacred Heart school, said police.”

Mr Bennett said the customer’s first reaction was impressive.

“He realised something was wrong and turns and gives chase, it was really pleasing.”

However, he said police were also wary about urging people to chase offenders because someone could get hurt.

“We take our hat off to him.

The robber was a medium built Maori or Polynesian, between 180-185cm tall.

Details of how much money the man got were not available.

Mr Bennett said anyone with information on the robber could call him direct on (07) 834 9476. He wore a dark top and dark track pants.

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Family and friends have so far failed to find the bodies of Timaru men Antony Haywood, 46, and Murray Green, 54, after their boat capsized on a fishing trip on Lake Tekapo last Wednesday.

Searchers recovered the body of the third crew member Mr Haywood’s father Alexander Haywood, 72, of Pleasant Point, close to Timaru, the day after the tragedy.

However, they had not yet found sign of their bodies, a Tekapo police spokesman said this afternoon.

Police called off the official search for the other two on Friday but relatives and friends continued looking for the men throughout the weekend.

Police believe that the fishing boat which had been recovered possibly hit a submerged object such as a tree at high speed about midday Wednesday flinging the men into the icy water. .

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Mr Haywood’s funeral will be held in Timaru tomorrow

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Jamaica has joined England as a genuine threat to netball’s traditional powerbases at next year’s Commonwealth Games by stunning the Silver Ferns 53-50 in Kingston today.

The winners capped a glorious week to celebrate the sport’s 50th anniversary in Jamaica, notching just their second win over the Silver Ferns in 44 attempts.

And it comes just four days after completing an equally rare one-goal victory over world champion Australia.

Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken, who also watched her side require extra time to deny England on this trip, admitted a bridging of the gap was a concern 12 months out from New Zealand’s title defence.

The world No 4 Sunshine Girls shared both series , an ominous development that suggests the gold medal match in India next October will not automatically be a trans-Tasman affair.

“It’s not just about Australia any more,” she told .

“The reality is we need to prepare for three different styles going into Commonwealth Games - England, Jamaica and Australia. .”

Jamaica’s compelling second quarter propelled the game beyond the Silver Ferns’ reach as they outscored to world No 2 13-5 - confining shooters Irene van Dyk and Maria Tutaia to just six attempts. You get someone like Romelda (Aiken) one day then a moving circle with (Australians) Sharelle (McMahon) and Susan Pratley.

“We lost a bit of our courage and our willingness to work off the ball.

“We lost our drive on attack, they tightened up (defensively), we made a few errors and suddenly we’re examining at only six attempts in that quarter - we can’t win games on that,” Aitken said.”

Aitken said different umpiring interpretations - the local official gave the Jamaican circle defenders more leeway - knocked New Zealand off kilter though it was not an excuse. Jamaica really upped the pressure and we got distracted, we didn’t stick to our structure.

The Silver Ferns started impressively, skipping out to a six-goal lead midway through the opening stanza at the National Indoor Stadium.

The Silver Ferns started impressively, skipping out to a six-goal lead midway through the opening stanza at the National Indoor Stadium.

Van Dyk shot a perfect 16 from 16 to the main break but the Jamaican duo had the luxury of making nine more attempts - an imbalance that engineered a 27-21 advantage for the hosts.

Jamaica then wrestled the initiative by ruling the 15-minute period to halftime - clogging the supply lines to van Dyk as the Silver Ferns’ passing accuracy deteriorated.

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Four glaring van Dyk misses in the third quarter and concerns over the Jamaican umpire when she controlled New Zealand’s shooting end prompted Aitken to pull her ace shooter (19/23) for the more mobile Paula Griffin in a bid to erase a four-goal deficit on the home stretch

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Police have identified a man, believed to have been dead at least 17 years, 21 months after his body was found in West Auckland bush.

He was Lino Leger, formerly of Mt Roskill, Detective Sergeant Roger Small of Waitakere police said tonight.Four pig hunters in the Waitakere ranges discovered Mr Leger’s body a few hundred metres into bush from Scenic Drive and less than 1km from the Arataki visitor’s centre in February last year.”Our inquiries reveal no suspicious circumstances surrounding the man’s death.Police believed his body had been at the site since 1987-1992, Mr Small said.”A facial reconstruction by Dr Jonathan Christiansen played a major role in identifying Mr Leger, Mr Small said.”Our appeal to the public for help in identifying the body coupled with forensic evidence recovered has enabled police to return Mr Leger to his family, and bring closure to a 22-year mystery.After extensive media coverage of the images , a flurry of friends and family contacted police to say they recognised Mr Leger immediately, he said.”I’m immensely satisfied that this missing persons file has achieved final closure. .”

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A second prison officer working at Wellington’s Rimutaka Prison has been arrested on drug charges.

Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews said the prison guard had been arrested under the Misuse of Drugs Act. .

“This second arrest should send a very clear and strong message that corrupt and illegal behaviour will not be tolerated in our prisons,” Mr Matthews said.

In June this year, a senior prison manager, Jeffrey Mark Reid, 43, was arrested and charged with selling cannabis to inmates. There is always the possibility of corrupt practices occurring within the system, he said.

He said it was disappointing such action had to be taken, but the department was confident the overwhelming majority of officers were honest.

In August a female prison officer was suspended on full pay, accused of having an affair with a violent criminal.

TVNZ also reported more arrests were imminent, following the investigation into one of the country’s largest prisons.

She was one of five Rimutaka staff suspended at that time - two years after a spate of staff problems prompted a more than 15-month inquiry into corruption at the prison.

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Mr Matthews said he could not provide further details on the arrest as the case was before the courts

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Animal control officers are applauding a dispute tribunal decision in which a Gisborne man successfully sued a farmer for more than $5000 after his car was written off when it hit a calf.

The case set a precedent, said Wairoa District Council animal control officer Des Jane.

The young man’s car hit a black Angus calf on State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Nuhaka about 8pm on April 10, while he was travelling to Gisborne. .

He did not swerve to attempt to avoid the animal because it would have resulted in rolling the car, further endangering his life and those of his four passengers.

The Nuhaka farmer who owned the calf was ordered to pay $5386 to cover the damage to the car. It was just fortunate no one was seriously injured or killed in the crash,” he told the tribunal.

The police report on the accident said it was not the first time there had been cattle on the road in this area and “it was only a matter of time before an accident like this was going to happen and somebody was going to be killed”.

Although it was common practice in the area to fence cows and calves with seven-wire fences, recently-weaned calves needed extra steps to be taken to stop them from escaping.

The calf had been recently weaned and the disputes tribunal found the Nuhaka farmer negligent because he did not take all reasonable steps to ensure adequate fencing.

Mr Jane said wandering stock in the district was a problem.

“Recently-weaned calves can be very unsettled and although they would not generally stray from their mothers (who were in the next paddock) they can be unpredictable and skittish,” the tribunal judgement said.

This case would be a wake-up call for farmers, he said.

Council animal control and the police spent a lot of time and effort getting farmers to improve their road fences and ongoing roadside fencing surveys had resulted in farmers being issued with notices to improve the standard of fences.

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An associate of the father who allegedly carried out the now-infamous balloon boy hoax to promote a proposed reality show is wanted for questioning after e-mails surfaced showing the two had discussed a similar stunt months ago as part of a public relations campaign for the program.

Investigators said they want to interview Robert Thomas, a Denver man who claimed Richard Heene had told him he was planning a media stunt to promote a proposed reality show. Thomas, a self-described researcher, sold his story to Gawker. Thomas said the show would feature Heene as a mad scientist who carries out various scientific experiments.com and provided the Web site with e-mail exchanges between him and Heene.Gawker.”This will be the most significant UFO-related news event to take place since the Roswell Crash of 1947, and the result will be a dramatic increase in local and national awareness about The Heene Family, our Reality Series, as well as the UFO Phenomenon in general,” according to a copy of the show’s proposal provided to the site by Thomas.com editor-in-chief Gabriel Snyder confirmed the New York-based Web site paid Thomas, but declined to say how much for the story billed with the headline: “Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax.Messages left for Thomas by The Associated Press were not returned.”Snyder said Thomas was planning to meet with investigators Sunday night, though sheriff’s officials did not return messages seeking confirmation.com story that the plan he knew about did not involve Heene’s children.Thomas, 25, said in his Gawker.The drama played out on live television to millions of viewers worldwide.The alleged stunt temporarily shut down Denver International Airport, and the National Guard provided two helicopters in an attempt to rescue 6-year-old Falcon Heene, who was believed to be inside the flying-saucer shaped homemade balloon that hurtled more than 50 miles across two counties. When the balloon landed without the boy, officials thought he had fallen out and began the grim search for his body. When the balloon landed without the boy, officials thought he had fallen out and began the grim search for his body.”"We certainly know that there’s a conspiracy between the husband and wife, you’ve probably seen some of the e-mails and some of the things on the Internet suggesting that there may be other conspirators,” Alderden said. Alderden said the stunt two weeks in the planning was a marketing ploy by the Heenes, who met in acting school in Hollywood and have appeared on ABC’s reality show “Wife Swap. Alderden didn’t name the media outlet but said it was a show that blurs “the line between entertainment and news.Alderden said documents show that a media outlet has agreed to pay money to the Heenes with regard to the balloon incident.”Let’s call it (my statement) short of speculation that a media outlet was in on the hoax, but let’s not discount the possibility,” he said.”It wasn’t clear whether the deal was signed before or after the alleged hoax, or whether the media outlet was a possible conspirator.com had not contacted the Heene family or offered them money for their story, referring to Alderden’s reference to a deal being struck by a media outlet.In an e-mail Sunday to the AP, Snyder said editors at Gawker.The parents weren’t under arrest, the sheriff said.”No, that wasn’t us,” Snyder said. Federal charges were also possible. Federal charges were also possible.The most serious charges are felonies and carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Alderden said they would be seeking restitution for the costs, though he didn’t have an estimate.The cost for just the two military helicopters was about $14,500 ($NZ19,785).As Alderden told reporters Sunday that the whole thing was a hoax, the Heenes were shopping for snacks at Wal-Mart, where Richard Heene told thehe was “seeking counsel.”"This thing has become so convoluted,” Heene said, tears welling in his eyes. He said his wife was holding together better than he was.The couple’s attorney, David Lane, issued a statement later Sunday saying the Heenes were willing to voluntarily turn themselves in to face charges. Lane said he advised the family against making public statements.Once investigators got a good look at the “flying saucer” they determined that the thin mylar balloon covered with foil and held together with duct tape would not have been able to launch with the 37-pound-boy inside, according to Colorado State University physics professor Brian Jones.Other parts of the story, including whether the 6-year-old had been hiding in the rafters of the family’s garage during an intense five-hour search also weren’t true, Alderden said.”For all we know he may have been two blocks down the road playing on the swing in the city park,” the sheriff said.The sheriff said all three of the Heenes’ sons knew of the hoax, but likely won’t face charges as a result of their ages. The oldest son is 10. One of the boys told investigators he saw his brother get in the balloon’s box before it launched.Alderden said Heene, a 48-year-old storm chaser, inventor and self-described amateur scientist, has a high school education and most recently earned a living by laying tile.Alderden said investigators had an “aha” moment that the story was a hoax when Falcon turned to his father during a CNN interview Thursday and said what sounded like “you had said we did this for a show” when asked why he didn’t come out of his hiding place.On Friday, Falcon got sick during two separate TV interviews when asked again why he hid.Alderden said they didn’t question the family Friday because they wanted to keep the family’s cooperation by maintaining the appearance that they believed their story. . No charges were filed.Alderden said officials tried Saturday to persuade Mayumi Heene, 45, to go to a safe house, but she declined.Alderden said the children were still with the parents Sunday and that child protective services had been contacted to investigate their well-being. On “Wife Swap,” Heene was portrayed as erratic, at one point throwing a glass of milk on a participant on the program.”Clearly, from all indications, Mr. Heene has somewhat of a temper,” Alderden said.The producer of “Wife Swap” said it had a show in development with the Heenes but the deal is now off. TLC also said Heene had pitched a reality show to the network months ago, but it passed on the offer.