referee Steve Walsh ruled that the pass was forward. Had Auckland been awarded that try, the result would have been a 27–27 draw, or a 29–27 win to Auckland if the conversion was successful. Both situations would have given Auckland the position of top seed going into the playoffs. Quarter-finals Auckland defeated Bay of Plenty for the second time this season in their quarter-final match-up on Saturday 7 October 2006. Lavea received a yellow card for a spear tackle at the start of the final quarter, but played the remainder of the match. Semi-finals Wellington defeated Auckland in the first 2006 Air New Zealand Cup semi-final on Friday 13 October 2006. Auckland's set-piece and handling errors meant Lavea could not get enough quality ball to capitalise on his team's expansive style of attack. The Pacific Islanders squad In September 2006, Lavea was named in the Pacific Islanders rugby union team (representing Samoa) to tour the United Kingdom and Ireland in November 2006. Although being named in the Pacific Islanders squad did not disqualify Lavea from playing for the All Blacks, the appearance of his name in the squad signified his possible allegiance to Manu Samoa in the future. At the time, Lavea stated that he felt it was time for him to take control of the future of his rugby career, and that opportunities lay with playing for the Pacific Islanders. If Lavea plays a test match for Manu Samoa, by IRB regulations he will become ineligible to play for the All Blacks. In a further development, it is understood that Lavea's contract with the NZRU stipulates his availability for All Blacks selection. Even though recent All Blacks Sitiveni Sivivatu and Sione Lauaki both played for the Pacific Islanders and went on to get the black jersey, new PIRA rules seem to suggest that players can only be included in the Pacific Islanders squad if they declare allegiance to their respective Pacific Island national team (Fiji, Samoa or Tonga). While the possibility of playing for Samoa in the 2007 Rugby World Cup would be of great appeal to Lavea, declaring himself unavailable for All Blacks selection could be detrimental to his rugby career in New Zealand (because a player that is not NZ-eligible is of less value to the NZRU). At the time Lavea did not comment on whether this would affect his decision to tour. When the Pacific Islanders