Te Amo decides to stay put

Press, 29 April 1978, Page 52

Te Amo decides to stay put

John Te Amo has decided' to resume his roles of No. 81 and captain in the New, Brighton senior rugby team when the two-match suspension imposed on him by the Canterbury Rugby Union ends after today’s round of fixtures.

A representative at colts | and provincial second XV levels, Te Amo was approached by a rugby league! club during his short spell on the sideline and there were strong rumours that he was considering a switch back to that code. Te Amo was sent from the field during New Brighton’s game with Shirley on April 18, for making a dangerous charge on an opponent. There had been a suggestion that New Brighton’s committee would add a further two weeks to Te Amo's suspension, and he said yes-i terdav that if such action had been taken he "might” have transferred his football! allegiance. Te Amo said that players I had been concerned at the! possibility of clubs imposing their own stand-down j periods, in addition to those enforced by the union. A suggestion that clubs would] take that line apparently!

stemmed from a meeting of the presidents and club captains committee.

"We heard that clubs would double the penalty of the union,” Te Amo said. “It has not happened at New Brighton before and I doubt whether it ever will. But I was pretty upset until the club told me that no action would be taken—you can’t hang a man twice for the same offence.”

However, it would seem that there has been a misunderstanding of the correspondence between the committee and the union. Mr N. F. Moffitt, who was until recently the secretary of the presidents’ and club captains’ committee, said that clubs had only requested that the union provide specific details of orderings from the field as well as the basic charge and penalty.

“Clubs usually hear conflicting reports about such dismissals and all that was wanted was a facsimile of the case so they could judge for themselves. In extreme cases, a club might want to take the matter into its own hands, but there was nothing mandatorv set down,” Mr Moffitt, said. The union had replied, agreeing to the request.