There are fears a State of Origin-esque send-off could derail the Super Rugby Pacific final.
The Blues and Chiefs will fight for the title at Eden Park on Saturday after their respective semi-final wins over the Brumbies and Hurricanes.
Game one in State of Origin was punctuated by union-bound player Joseph Suaalii being sent off and reducing NSW to 12 men.
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That match was widely labelled a non-contest after Queensland walked away with victory.
Unlike league, union’s rules – specifically in Super Rugby Pacific – mean that any player who is red-carded is sent off for the entirety of the match but can be replaced by another player after 20 minutes.
Nevertheless, All Blacks legends are nervous that the final could be defined by one player’s ill-discipline.
“I said this a couple of weeks ago – I hope it does not come down to a refereeing decision,” said Mils Muliaina on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown.
“(On Saturday), it almost did. There was potential. But they’ve got to get it right.
“We don’t want to be coming back the following week and go ‘That was lost on that decision’, so they’ve got to be on the same page. I’m worried that might happen.”
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The Chiefs’ semi-final win over the Hurricanes wasn’t without drama, with two yellow cards in the match.
The first was for Samipeni Finau making head-on-head contact with TJ Perenara and the second was for captain Luke Jacobson’s thumping late tackle on Jordie Barrett.
Ultimately, those calls didn’t change the outcome of the contest, though that’s not to say the same will happen in the final.
“I think the Chiefs would feel really aggrieved,” said Jeff Wilson.
“There were a few decisions that went against them. They’ve come out the other side of it where they’ve won.”
There was some consternation over Perenara’s hit on Wallace Sititi. The TMO looked at the head-on-head clash but it was not penalised.
To the letter of the law, and given the earlier yellow card, Perenara should have copped a yellow card, said Wilson.
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“Ultimately, if you look at another contact in the game when TJ Perenara makes a tackle on Wallace Sititi, there’s a head contact there,” said Wilson.
“All you’re asking for is consistency. I think the great thing for this group is that it didn’t hurt the outcome of this game. That’s where they’re fortunate.
“Let’s just pray. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that hopefully, next Sunday, we’re not talking about a significant moment in a game.”
Justin Marshall added, “Consistency is what you’re after. There’s no doubt about the fact that if they’re going to say head contact, then across the board to the letter of the law, if it’s head contact then you’re going to have to penalise everyone in the same regard.
“That’s all we’re after. If they do that, whether we agree with it or not, if they’re consistent then everybody will be happy.”
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On consistency, Marshall noted incidents in which he thought Damian McKenzie was tackled late.
Curiously, referee Angus Gardner was initially only going to penalise Jacobson but changed his mind given the amount of “force” was used.
“(At the) end of the day, Jacobson, that late shot, it’s a penalty,” said Marshall.
“When you look at the context of the game, Mckenzie got belted a couple of times just after he kicked the ball. Absolutely hammered him. Nothing was said about it and to a degree that’s late because he’s already kicked the ball. It’s gone off his foot.
“Jacobson was committed to that tackle too, so yes, if they get the consistency right, we’ll all be happy. If they don’t then there’ll be plenty to complain about.”