Rugby Union - by Craig Hill

Queensland coach Eddie Jones was last night fined $10,000 by SANZAR and told to make a written apology to referee Matt Goddard following a judicial hearing in Sydney.

Jones was found guilty of a code of conduct breach after he castigated Goddard for his refereeing performance during last Saturday night's Queensland-ACT match in Brisbane.

At the post-match press conference, Jones described Goddard's refereeing of the scrums as "ludicrous", "lacking commonsense", and "outrageous". Jones was just as outspoken during television and radio interviews.

When contacted in Auckland last night, Jones said of the SANZAR fine: "I am very disappointed. I certainly won't be as candid about the game anymore. Because you are passionate about the game, you get canned for it."

Asked if he would appeal, Jones replied: "I wouldn't bother … I'm just going to get on with coaching the Reds."

Earlier, Western Force coach John Mitchell became an unlikely ally for Jones, saying he respected him for the outspoken stand he had taken against referees.

Mitchell said he admired Jones "for his comments, and he is entitled, I believe, to make those comments". "He has shown the nuts to do that, and good on him," Mitchell said.

Mitchell was unimpressed with a "survey system" that called on Super 14 coaches to rank refereeing performances after every game this year. He said he had already filled in three sheets but had not received any feedback. He said the feedback should "happen every week".

Mitchell was also concerned at the level of experience of several touch judges.