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Henjak in O'Neill's sights
Wayne Smith | February 13, 2008
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...0-2722,00.html
AUSTRALIAN Rugby Union boss John O'Neill has put the Western Force on notice to deal swiftly and mercilessly with the Matt Henjak-Haig Sare incident, or the national body will take the matter out of the club's hands.
Western Force has been told by the ARU to deal swiftly with Matt Henjak. Picture: Kerris Berrington
O'Neill was dismayed that the Force did not contact him yesterday after he requested the club to inform him on its investigation into the alleged altercation between Henjak and Sare in Fremantle on Sunday afternoon. Sare was left with a broken jaw.
Perth officials instead announced that Henjak would take his place in the squad that left yesterday for three Super 14 matches in South Africa.
In a statement released last night, O'Neill said Henjak was touring South Africa - the country he was sent home from in disgrace after being involved in another alcohol-related incident there during the Wallabies' 2005 Tri-Nations campaign - against the advice and wishes of the ARU.
"While natural justice demands any player is innocent until proven guilty, we believe there is justification to stand down any player who has a disciplinary hearing pending," O'Neill said.
"Following discussions with Force management this afternoon, the ARU has resolved to write to the Force requesting the disciplinary process be expedited. We expect a firm undertaking that this matter will be dealt with as soon as possible, even before the team's opening match in South Africa if possible."
While O'Neill might be demanding all possible speed, the Force appears to be hastening slowly, and not surprisingly considering its prime motivating factor in taking Henjak to South Africa was to use him in the season-opening match against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday morning (AEDT).
There was no mention of Henjak's importance to the Force in a purely rugby sense in the club's response to the ARU's statement late yesterday.
Although it insisted its investigation was progressing as quickly as possible before the matter is turned over to the Serious Misconduct Tribunal, the Force also warned "it will be some days" before Sare will be available for interview.
Certainly any deliberate foot-dragging to ensure Henjak gets in at least one match before answering the charges against him will be viewed dimly by the ARU. The head body has already set a precedent in lowering the boom on a serial offender whom it considered was dealt with too leniently by his provincial union.
In March 2006, the ARU took matters into its own hands after Wendell Sailor was suspended by the Waratahs for one game, fined $500 and sent home in disgrace from South Africa after pushing a patron outside a bar and vomiting in a side alley.
Deeming the NSWRU's penalty inadequate, then-ARU chief executive Gary Flowers convened a code of conduct tribunal that increased Sailor's initial punishment by a further two-match suspension.
O'Neill conceded the ARU did not have the power to stand down Henjak immediately, or to prevent him from playing against the Sharks if the Force selected him - which Perth coach John Mitchell yesterday indicated was precisely what he intended to do.
But, without referring directly to the Sailor case, O'Neill put the Force on notice that the ARU could, and would, intervene if the issue was not resolved quickly.
"Under the code of conduct, the ARU has the authority to intervene if it believes an incident of a sufficiently serious nature has occurred and a province does not take appropriate action to resolve the situation," O'Neill said.
Mitchell raised eyebrows on two coasts yesterday when he claimed Henjak "deserves his selection" and would start against the Sharks.
"The team has put an enormous amount of work in the pre-season into this first fixture," Mitchell said. "It would be totally unfair on everyone in the organisation and the team if we weren't to select the best players to go on the field." My eyebrows were raised as well..not a good choice of words. I sense abit of frustration there..he must have been looking forward to the perfect lineup with a Yaks-Gits combi.
Australia sevens star Nick Cummins is likely to take Sare's place on the right wing.
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