New Zealand let off the hook

The New Zealand Sevens squad have escaped any form of punishment, after it was discovered that they fielded two ineligible players during the Singapore leg of the International Rugby Board's (IRB) Sevens Series.

Speculation was rife on Wednesday that New Zealand were in line for a heavy fine, or even possible expulsion from the series, after it emerged that former Samoan Sevens representatives, Kevin Senio and Sosene Anesi, had turned out for New Zealand in Singapore.

According to the ruling made by the IRB in January 2000, players can represent one country only during their careers, thus Senio and Anesi, who represented Samoa in March and April 2000, were deemed ineligible to play for New Zealand.

But it has since been reported by an IRB official that there was confusion at the time as to whether the new regulations included Sevens rugby.

"So far as the IRB was concerned, Sevens was captured in the regulation," the official told the well-known Fijian rugby website, Teivovo.

"But because there was a significant amount of confusion within the rugby community, the issue was not ratified until the Council meeting later in the year and following the two players' appearance at the Hong Kong Sevens.

"When the [Senio and Anesi] cases were heard, the view was taken that as a result of the confusion, the period between January and April 2000 would be regarded as a transitional period [applicable only to sevens] and that both players were therefore eligible [for New Zealand]."

Waikato wing Anesi recently played for the New Zealand Sevens in Hong Kong and Singapore, while Bay of Plenty halfback Senio was part of New Zealand's winning team at the 2001 Japan Sevens.