Kiwi May Stand Down Over 'grannygate' Scandal

The Age

Wednesday November 1, 2006

BRAD WALTER

NATHAN Fien is prepared to stand down from the remainder of the Tri-Nations tournament in what is almost certain to prove a futile bid to save New Zealand from being stripped of competition points after it was revealed that Fien's great-grandmother - not his grandmother - was born in NZ, meaning Fien was not eligible to represent the Kiwis.

NZ may now use what has become known as the "Grannygate" scandal to argue for the international constitution to be enforced, ensuring clubs release their players for Test duty.

NZ Rugby League lawyers will outline legal arguments today as to why Fien was eligible to play for the Kiwis in written submissions to be forwarded to the Rugby League International Federation executive by 3pm.

But Kiwi officials concede that there had been a misunderstanding over Fien's NZ heritage when he made himself available for selection and insist that neither they nor the former Queensland state-of-origin hooker set out to deceive anybody but made a simple error.

It is believed that the possibility that the birth certificate Fien presented as his "Nan's" may have really been that of his Wanganui-born great-grandmother first emerged last week in the lead-up to NZ's Test against Great Britain in Christchurch.

Until then, NZRL officials and coach Brian McClennan had believed it was his grandmother's and forwarded a copy to the Australian Rugby League after naming him to make his Test debut in Melbourne a week earlier.

The Kiwis accept that Fien had never differentiated between his grandmother and great-grandmother and said yesterday the 27-year-old Warriors hooker, who has a NZ-born daughter, was devastated by the prospect he may have cost the team its points.

A decision on whether NZ has breached section 3.1 (b) of the RLIF constitution that says "a player is eligible to play for the country in which either of his parents or any of his grandparents was born" will be made tomorrow, with the Kiwis expected to be docked two points and Fien suspended until next year when he qualifies on residency grounds.

But the NZRL maintains the eligibility regulations were not drafted tightly enough to mean only grandparentage, not great-grandparentage, and are likely to produce as evidence a court decision from Oklahoma that includes great-grandparents in its definition. "We just want it clarified. When you look at the international constitution it is very unclear about player eligibility," NZRL chairman Selwyn Bennett said.