Bismarck has red card wiped

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THE International Rugby Board has found fault with referee Romain Poite's decision to award the first of two yellow cards against South Africa's Bismarck du Plessis in a Test against New Zealand on Saturday, and Rugby Championship organisers have deleted a subsequent red card from the Springbok hooker's career record.

In a statement on Monday, the IRB said the yellow card awarded against du Plessis for a tackle on New Zealand flyhalf Dan Carter in the 17th minute of the match was "incorrect."

Du Plessis received a second yellow card for foul play in the 42nd minute of the match, meaning he was automatically sent off.

New Zealand went on to win 29-15 as South Africa played most of the second half with 14 men. The IRB said the yellow card decision "was an unfortunate case of human error by the match officials."

Terry Willis, an Australian judicial officer for the SANZAR group which sanctions international rugby in the southern hemisphere, later removed the red card from du Plessis' disciplinary record.

The SANZAR judicial hearing was held Monday via teleconference, with submissions made on behalf of the player and the video footage reviewed.

SANZAR said in a statement that Willis found Poite's decision "was wrong," as the tackle on Carter "was within the laws of the game."

The other yellow card issued against du Plessis, for raising his elbow as he went into a tackle against an All Blacks backrower, remains on his record. 

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Mundine steps up Moseley prep

Training ... Anthony Mundine spars with Shannon King. Source: Glenn Barnes / News Limited

ANTHONY Mundine hits Brisbane this week to start intense preparations for his fight with faded American great Shane Mosley next month.

Brisbane has been a happy hunting ground for the former world champion who scored two of his biggest wins – over Daniel Geale and Garth Wood – at the Entertainment Centre at Boondall.

Mundine is likely to spend four weeks in the Sunshine State sparring with Brisbane's 2012 Olympian Cameron Hammond, whose loose-limbed, sharp shooter style closely mimics that of Mosley, the 42-year-old former world welterweight and light-middleweight champion.

Mosley is not as fast as he was when twice beating Oscar De La Hoya more than a decade ago and on October 23 at Sydney's Entertainment Centre, Mundine hopes to make him the biggest name on a resume that currently reads 44 wins in 49 fights.

Mundine and his mate, Olympic athletics silver medallist John Steffensen, will be in Brisbane on Saturday for the launch of the Brisbane Sports Performance Centre at Kangaroo Point.

Steffensen was a star amateur boxer in his youth and he and Mundine will run a boxing workshop at the facility from 10am.

Mundine will also be in the crowd when the venue hosts its first boxing event on Saturday night with Australian middleweight champ Nathan Carroll expected to manhandle Thailand's Decapon Sunwannalird on a card that also includes Queensland cruiserweight champion Balazs Varga and rising welterweight Ozan Craddock.

Carroll is using the fight as a warm-up for his November 7 middleweight title defence against Irishman Dennis Hogan at Eatons Hill on a card to be televised by Fox Sports.

While in Queensland, Mundine is expected to train at the gym of his former victim, Seoul Olympian Darren Obah, at Kunda Park on the Sunshine Coast.

His deal to spar with Cameron Hammond was negotiated by Hammond's manager Matt Clark.

"I told Anthony that there is no one in Australia who so closely resembles Shane Mosley's style as Cameron,'' Clark said.

"He has fast hands, fast feet and is very elusive. Having boxed at the London Olympics and the Delhi Commonwealth Games Cameron has experience against the fastest and most skilled amateur fighters in the world.

"It will be great experience for Cameron to go in against a fighter of Mundine's experience and skill and it should be a great experience for Anthony to box a really quick guy with that Mosley style.''

Mundine was in Hammond's hometown, Moree, a week ago to cheer on the local rugby league team, the Boomerangs, to victory in their Group 19 grand final.

Mundine's arrival caps a big week for Queensland boxing.

On Friday night at Brisbane's Irish Club, Dennis Hogan faces fellow Irishman Gavin Prunty and Frenchman Faris Chevalier faces local super-middleweight Shane Parry.

On the same night at Southport Sharks AFL Club, world-rated middleweight Les Sherrington should hit too hard for Japan's Shigetaka Yonezawa.

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Santalab loving life at Wanderers

Santalab has just returned from the Wanderers' pre-season tour. John Fotiadis. Source: John Fotiadis / News Limited

IT has taken no time at all for Brendon Santalab to settle into life at Western Sydney Wanderers.

The veteran striker has already scored four goals during the pre-season, including two against Asian opposition on the club's recent trip to China and Japan.

The Wanderers broke up the long pre-season with a two-week, three-match tour of Asia and Santalab said each player would have gained valuable experience - especially with their participation in the Asian Champions League coming up.

"It's good preparation for the ACL and great experience for the young boys," Santalab said. "We got a taste of what it's going to be like playing and travelling there.

"It was quite full-on. A lot of travelling, with games and training in between all of that. It's always good to change up the pre-season because it is long and it does drag on a little bit, so the trip was good for the team."

Santalab, 31, is familiar with playing conditions in Asia, having spent four years in the Chinese Super League before returning to Sydney.

The Wanderers came away from their tour with a draw, a win and a defeat, and Santalab said they did well to adjust to the testing conditions. 

"I think it was about in the mid-30s in China and also in Tokyo, so we got a taste of the heat over in Asia, which again was good for our preparation," he said. "The J-League sides especially are quite good and I think the Chinese level probably isn't as good as the Japanese. But it doesn't matter, when the ACL comes all the games are going to be tough."

Finding the back of the net has come naturally to Santalab, but adjusting to Tony Popovic's notoriously tough training regime hasn't.

He said it took a couple of weeks for him to get used to it, but he was now starting to see the benefits.

"Training has definitely been a shock to the system for me because I've never trained at that kind of intensity before," he said. "But now I'm in the groove and I'm really enjoying it."

Santalab is hoping he can carry his goal-scoring momentum into the A-League season.

"It doesn't matter where I'm playing, either up front or on the wings, I want to score goals," he said.

"For me it's just about scoring goals this year and helping the team get that goal tally up. It's a good pressure to have."

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Aussie quartet ready for UCL test

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IT'S the biggest stage in club football, and four Socceroos get to view the promised land from up close this week when the Champions League returns.

Midfielder James Holland is the only one certain to start, when Austrian Vienna host Porto, while Robbie Kruse is hopeful of some involvement when Bayer Leverkusen travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

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Likewise Tom Rogic will aim for at least a taste of playing at the San Siro stadium when AC Milan host Celtic, and Mitch Langerak is likely to be on the bench for Dortmund away to Napoli.

After the 6-0 thrashing Brazil handed out to the Socceroos 10 days ago, it could be a daunting prospect — but Holland insists they can learn from even such a harrowing experience.

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Having won the Austrian Bundesliga last year, Austria Vienna face the fabulous technique of Porto, and Holland is well aware of the technical exam that lies ahead.

"As a child growing up, you watched the Champions League and knew it was the pinnacle of the game, so to be about to play in it is something else," Holland said.

"There's no doubt we're the underdogs, possibly of the whole group, but on many ¬levels it's a fantastic experience to learn from. I also think that tactically we're good, and if we play with shape and we're smart in possession, we can create something.

"We have nothing to lose. We earned our spot and did well in the qualifying games. We lifted in two games against Zagreb when we were expected to roll over and get beaten.

Minutes ... Tom Rogic hopes to see game time for Celtic. Source: News Limited

"We can draw confidence from that, and realise that anything's possible. And if we do get a good result, it will shock the European football community, which is another incentive."

Whatever the result, though, the sheer intensity of the experience is something he believes he can carry over into the national team.

"It says a bit about the future of Australian football," he said.

"There have been lots of question marks in the media about the Socceroos. But we've got four players, all 25 or under, playing for teams in what's commonly accepted to be the top club competition in the world," he said.

"You talk about the Porto midfield, for instance, and their unbelievable technical quality – you learn from watching these guys from all angles, not just playing directly against them.

"Even with the game against Brazil (where Holland was an unused substitute). You can learn from sitting on the bench by watching how and where they run. It can fast track your own development if you're prepared to look and learn from the guys you play against."

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Port's bigger hurdle in 2014

Ken Hinkley knows there's still much to be done. Source: Wayne Ludbey / HeraldSun

PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley returns to work today to start a rapid two-day series of exit interviews with his recharged Power players.

And he needs to only point to the proposed AFL draw to underline his point that they face a tougher 2014.

Hinkley will finish the week with list-management meetings that already have the Power poised to seek a new key forward, more midfielders and a running defender. But the trade bait from Alberton is unlikely to concede popular forward John Butcher to find the third peg alongside Jay Schulz and Justin Westhoff.

Port's rise from 14th last year to fifth this season puts the Power in the frame for the toughest draw possible in its first year at the new Adelaide Oval. There will be five "double-up" games in Port's 22-game draw for the home-and-away season. As many as three of these matches could be against the four clubs ranked above the Power - Hawthorn, Fremantle, Sydney and Geelong.

While these blockbuster match-ups - and the promise of a return to Friday night football - is a bonus for the Power's commercial department, the draw puts the Port players on notice they cannot rest on this year's standards.

"We made it this year on the back of the hard work we put in," said Hinkley. "But the draw does change now ... by finishing in the top six, the draw becomes significantly harder for the teams we play twice.

"Now, we'll look forward to that challenge. I've said to the players, if we want to improve we have to recognise the mountain in front of us has just become bigger. And we have to grow with it. We have to work harder if we want to get to the top - and there is still a massive amount of work to do."

Port's search for a third key forward was dented by Norwood draftee Daniel Gorringe recently signing a two-year contract extension at Gold Coast. But the chase for midfielders is helped by Jared Polec quitting Brisbane to seek a return to SA.

Butcher, 22, played eight AFL games this season, as many as he managed in 2012.

"We definitely need a key forward who can stand up and help us - that is an area of real concern," said Hinkley. "John Butcher certainly has the talent. He just needs a better run avoiding injury.

"We have a lot of faith in John. But it is one area we have to look at.

"But we also drafted Mason Shaw (at No. 30 last year) who I am really excited about. He is going to be a big boy, 197cm and heavy. So he is going to supply us with something.

"In ruck we are strong with Matthew Lobbe and Jarrad Redden, who are exciting young ruckman. And we have Brent Renouf. But we probably need the fourth ruckman developing underneath."

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Genia faces fight to displace White

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HUNGRY new halfback Nic White will win another Test start ahead of Will Genia as the Wallabies keep remaking Quade Cooper as a better five-eghth by dividing up his decision-making load.

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White's excellent first mission as a starting half has earned him a crack against South Africa in Cape Town on September 28 when the Wallabies open a stretch of eight Tests abroad which is the most daunting in their 114-year history.

His value went beyond the composed kicking and direction of play to subdue the dangerous Argentinians 14-13 in the miserable squalls and wind that lashed Perth's Patersons Stadium last Saturday night.

Giving White and centre Christian Lealiifano more prominent decision-making roles shrewdly reduced the boom-or-bust outcome that can dog Cooper when he is solely in control of playmaking.

White may be the smallest Wallaby at 82kg but he has big hopes. His even bigger kicking game thankfully filled a void in recent Australian teams because the gutsy grind would not have been won without his pressure-relieving thumps.

Instead of a botched kick-off reception to gift the third Test to the British and Irish Lions in the first minute, White hoofed the ball for a 60m ground gain. What a difference.

Nic White clears the ball. His kicking game provided a boost for the Wallabies against Argentina. Source: Getty Images

Coach Ewen McKenzie's DNA is clear when he takes a punt as he did on White ahead of 47-Test gem Genia. Reward the faith and you keep the spot.

"I'm very keen to. This Test was a big opportunity not just to see I'm capable of playing Test rugby but keeping the No.9 jersey," White said after being named players' player of the Test.

"There were not doubts about belonging but I guess I saw it was going to be tough to get the No.9 off Will because he's had his hands on it a long time. I knew if a chance did come it wouldn't be very often."

Remarkably, the emergence of the kid who once ran with the Maitland Blacks reinforces the Hunter Valley as a golden vein when mining for Wallaby halfbacks.

John Hipwell, Cyril Burke, Luke Burgess, Steve Merrick and Josh Valentine all came from the region.

Cooper took on his revised role. He drastically reduced his errors and was the smart hands in the second wave attack for the Israel Folau try after Lealiifano had acted as first receiver to set a platform with a direct little run.

More than that, a more physical Cooper hit seven rucks which is unheard of for him. He also defended in the frontline again.

That McKenzie subbed him out to play Matt Toomua for the final, vice-tightening 15 minutes also hit instant paydirt.

His scudding 30m touchfinder to pin the Pumas in their quarter was "that big moment when I saw the Argentinian heads drop" said delighted first-time skipper Ben Mowen.

"Quade managed the game quite well with Nick. Playing Quade or Christian at first receiver allowed us to do things differently and make it harder for the opposition defence," McKenzie said.

"We all know they (defenders) love to stand in front of Quade so if he's somewhere else it creates a lot more space."

McKenzie would not be pinned down on the White-Genia selection for Cape Town. Genia played not a minute in Perth such was White's value but the change-up might be 20-to-30 minutes off the bench on a dry, fast day at Newlands.

"We knew Nic could play. The big stage didn't slow him or force him into his shell and he showed he has one of the strongest kicking games in the country for any position," McKenzie said.

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Honey Badger battered in Pumas win

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BULLOCKING winger Nick Cummins is seeking a surgeon's advice on a fractured bone in his hand to find out if there is any way to play a part in the Wallabies' tough tour of South Africa and Argentina.

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Should the damage rule out Cummins it will be unfortunate because his power injections were far more positive in the win over Argentina in Perth than when his handling let him down twice a week earlier against South Africa.

X-rays confirmed bone damage but he is clinging to the hope he might still be named this week in a 28-strong Wallabies squad for Tests against the Springboks in Cape Town (September 28) and the Pumas in Rosario (October 5).

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"There was marked improvement in Cummo's game. It's what we expect from him ... good kick chase, putting his body on the line and attitude which in defence is a good indicator of where we are up to," coach Ewen McKenzie said.

Lock Sitaleki Timani's physical 29-minute effort off the bench in his Test comeback may be rewarded with a tour.

Big bodies are needed. McKenzie also indicated he expected top-choice skipper James Horwill to be available at lock after two Tests away mending a minor hamstring tweak.

Prop Benn Robinson will be under consideration for a recall with doubt over the fitness of James Slipper (shoulder), who had a shortened night in Perth after labouring following a "stinger" when making an early tackle.

"We are playing two attritional teams in their backyard and no one is going to be backing us. We are not just going away for two weeks on the road but to have two wins and build on the good stuff," coach Ewen McKenzie said.

"We are not carrying a rehab group in Test weeks. We want anyone who is touring able to train at 100 per cent next Saturday."

For the first time in four Tests in The Rugby Championship, the Wallabies earned less than 50 per cent of the ball. That they won for the first time had McKenzie shrugging his shoulders.

"Carrying the ball is not a wonderful KPI at the moment which is a bit disappointing. I mean it's where you carry the ball I suppose because refs are penalising the attacking team at times. In front of your posts is not a good place," McKenzie said.

McKenzie re-emphasised the value of Nic White standing tall as a Test starter for the first time in a squad that also boasts Will Genia.

"We have two top No.9s now. It's crucial in very position that we have performance pressure (to keep improving)," McKenzie said.

"We are not looking for clones but different players with different traits."

First-time Wallabies skipper Ben Mowen relished the day-after glow of a winning Test.

"It feels great to win as a team and that there were huge moments of character when the screws needed to be turned," Mowen said.

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Wallabies' win far from trivial

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ISRAEL Folau felt the most potent "connection" yet between the new-look Wallabies when they were desperately tackling for each other in the wet because they are now trivia buffs together.

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The match-winning fullback said the most vital seeds were sown in off-field team building for the much-needed one-point victory in Perth when the Argentinians were shut out for the final 15 minutes.

In a post-Test dressing room of sodden bodies, the confidence kick was most obvious for Nic White, Scott Fardy, Scott Sio, Matt Toomua and Tevita Kuridrani.

In the middle of a ring of more senior Wallabies, the five rookies belted out the national anthem as winners for the first time. It was pure singing in the rain for them. No more losing streak.

Last Tuesday, the Wallabies had a novel team dinner with no stooped heads hovering over iPhones. Senior hooker Stephen Moore had devised a Wallaby trivia game with questions for Wallabies about their fellow Wallabies.

"Where was Nic White born?", "Who was in the front-row with Ewen McKenzie in the 1991 World Cup final?"... the questions were simple, fun but connecting.

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You forget how little new team-mates sometimes know about each other or Wallaby history. That there was a Wallaby back in 2011 who for months had no idea that team manager Rob Egerton had actually won a World Cup in 1991 as a player is damning evidence of that.

"The most important thing was just getting that win because now we can build on top of that with confidence," Folau said after he brilliantly shed four defenders for Australia's only try.

"Off the field, we got a lot closer as a group and you could feel that connection out there on the field.

"It was just spending more time together, more team activities, getting to know each other better."

The starch of doing more for each other was best reflected in the vastly improved attitude in defence which had previously been porous for 12 tries in three McKenzie-era losses.

Folau dabbed a neat kick into space to apply pressure in the final 15 minutes to show another shade to his dominating game. Dumb rugby made way for clear thinking everywhere.

"There was more clarity for every individual. Simple things had to be done well like exiting from our danger zone with kicks but still coming in to have a crack like I tried to do when it was on," he said.

The impact from the bench was vastly superior to recent weeks with a Saia Faingaa tackle, a 30m Matt Toomua touch-finder, a Sitaleki Timani hit and a replacement front-row producing the best scrum of the night with three minutes to play.

Folau believes the road trip to Cape Town and Rosario to play South Africa and Argentina is well-timed.

"It will be a big test for us but it's a good thing for us to be travelling away and spending more time together as a new team," Folau said.

Here's a trivia question: "How many tries has Israel Folau scored for the Wallabies?" Answer: Four and ripe for more in 2013.

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Bill: Sharks-Cowboys refs must go

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FORMER referee's boss Bill Harrigan has called for the entire team of match officials overseeing Cronulla's controversial elimination final win against North Queensland to be stood down for the rest of the NRL finals series.

The Sharks were awarded a try in eighth minute of Saturday's 20-18 victory at Allianz Stadium on what appeared to be the seventh tackle in the set.

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On-field referees Matt Cecchin and Henry Perenara miscounted the number of tackles and allowed Sharks prop Sam Tagataese to play the ball after a barnstorming run on what should have been a handover on the last.

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Harrigan, who along with Stuart Raper was sacked in 2012 after a controversial season at the helm, said the mistake could have been the result of the two referees switching positions.

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"But even when you're working in the pocket, you still should be doing the tackle count and the video ref keeps a tackle count," he said during Triple M's Finals NRL coverage.

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"If this is a seventh tackle try, the whole three in the team ... you shouldn't see them again for the rest of the finals and that'll be unfortunate."

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The NRL confirmed immediately after the match it was an error, after head of football Todd Greenberg reviewed the incident.

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He said there would be an inquiry into how the mistake was allowed to happen.

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"We do not want to see mistakes like this made in any match, especially a finals game, and we will be meeting with (referees boss) Daniel Anderson and the match officials to examine just how this happened," Greenberg said in a statement.

"What is most concerning is that there are checks and balances across the entire squad to safeguard against the referees making such a mistake. We don't want this happening again.

"We can't take points away or change a result of a match due to such a decision but we do have to be able to reassure players and fans that this won't happen again in any game."

Anderson later said the referees will have to pay the price for their mistake, but stopped short of saying they will be sacked.

"It's not about public vilification right now, but there will be a price to pay. I think we all know that," he told Triple M.

"I can't apologise enough on behalf of the NRL match officials crew."

Anderson said the referees had counted a couple of the tackles on their fingers, before mistakenly calling the fifth tackle number four.

"At that stage we've got enough fail-safe stuff up here with video ref, touch judges - but the fail-safe's failed unfortunately," Anderson said, adding he advised all officials at half-time of the incident.

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Wallabies escape with patchy win

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COURAGEOUS, proudly physical, ugly. The Wallabies were all those things on Saturday night in rain-lashed Perth but most of all they were victors for the first time under new coach Ewen McKenzie and first-time skipper Ben Mowen.

1 Tries 1
Israel Folau 28'	Juan Leguizamon 65'
0 Conversions 1
	Nicolas Sanchez 66'
3 Penalties 2
Christian Lealiifano 12'	Nicolas Sanchez 8'
Christian Lealiifano 17'	Nicolas Sanchez 61'
Christian Lealiifano 40'

The Wallabies were kept pointless in the second half by the surging Argentinians but the grinding 14-13 success was as satisfying and as important as a 20-point win.

A huge Nick Cummins tackle that forced a key turnover, an Adam Ashley-Cooper charge-down, an ankle-high tackle just off the ruck by replacement Saia Faingaa, a full-body check by Sitaleki Timani, Michael Hooper again and again...all reflected the second half intensity of the Wallabies.

It had to be desperate with the wind behind the Pumas for the final 40 minutes and it was. New halfback Nic White had a fine 80-minute game.

His ground-gaining kicks were vital to the resistance plan. One kick out on the full and another charged down were minor tax for the big metres and pressure his boot applied. Will Genia was not used off the bench.

It was confidence of the most tangible kind after a four-loss spiral.

The crowd of 18,214 who braved the appalling conditions in ponchos and windcheaters deserved medals. It was still the smallest turnout to a Wallabies' Test on home soil since the 15,438 crowd in Canberra for the Australia-Fiji Test that opened 2010.

The Wallabies were under huge pressure to open the second half when Argentina's juggernaut scrum turned up the heat with a rash of penalties and four straight scrums.

The Wallabies buckled but rebounded with a strong, twisting response of their own that turned into a breakdown penalty and great relief.

The defensive line speed of the Wallabies was exponentially better than the previous week against South Africa.

Hooker Stephen Moore was spot on with his lineout throws, a key source of possession.

"I said before the Test I'd take a 3-0 win. I'll take a one-point win. I'm stoked," new Wallabies skipper Ben Mowen said.

"We just needed a win.

"The way we hung in and scambled when we were under scrum pressure on our own line in the second half was a very big defining moment."

Swirling wind and constant rain were miserable conditions for a Wallabies team trying to resuscitate their season because it took quicksilver backline plays out of their armoury from the start.

The Wallabies chiselled out a 14-3 lead with the wind by half-time in an arm-wrestle of attritional forward play, kicking for territory and pressuring for mistakes.

The cannon in new halfback Nic White's boot was an asset just 12 seconds into the game when he spanked the ball 60m downfield from the ruck to set up an Aussie lineout. It was from ground gained by his boot that the Wallabies set up the patient and precise pressure for the opening try.

White searched for a runner and centre Christian Lealiifano punched over the advantage line. It just the momentum needed for a quick relay of passes from Quade Cooper and James O'Connor into the bucket hands of Israel Folau.

The giant fullback stepped off his right foot, twisted through three defenders and dotted down for his fourth and possibly most significant try of his short Test career.

Lealiifano kicked three-from-four in the first half.

Mowen knocked on with his first touch as captain but was every bit the demanding general that coach Ewen McKenzie wanted because he directed the metre-gaining rolling mauls and waves of forward runners to keep the acid on the tourists.

Winger Cummins ran with relish although being caught on his own tryline when trying to defuse a tricky little kick was heart-attack time. His most powerful charge was chopped down so emphatically by Argentinian No.8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon that Cummins appeared to clap him.

Sekope Kepu, Faingaa and Scott Sio finished the game in the front-row and were part of the gutsy and starchy fight to keep the Pumas at bay in the final scrums.

Young Pumas flanker Pablo Matera, just 20, was a high workrate rival who returned the Matera name to the stadium for the first time since the days of West Coast Eagles AFL brothers Peter and Phil.

McKenzie was well satisfied with White's first effort as a starter.

"With the conditions that were dealt us on the night, we relied more heavily on him than we thought we would. His game management and kicking were important," McKenzie said.

"It was a difficult decision not to pick Will but now we have another very good Test halfback in the squad."

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