The Ranfurly Shield
One of the ITM Cup games on the weekend was between Counties-Manukau and Hawkes Bay, but it was also a Ranfurly Shield match.
For those who don’t know: the “Log o’ Wood” is a trophy that is held by a team until it is beaten in a home game. In the past here have been various rules about the number of challenges that you have to accept in a season, and that they shouldn’t be held in finals matches and yarda yarda; but challenges have been going on for over 100 years and the concept has a lot of tradition.
The Shield was presented by a Governor of New Zealand and when it arrived they could see that the picture on the centrepiece was of a game of soccer; so they added uprights onto the soccer goals to fake it.
Ranfurly Shield challenges were a big thing back in the day because before 1976 there was no organised competition. Provinces arranged matches with each other and sometimes teams from the South Island would travel to the North Island by ferry and have a two week rail tour playing three or four games.
Sometimes holders of the Shield would take it on tour and accept a challenge by a lesser team in a mid-week game but they wouldn’t risk it against one of the bigger unions on Saturday.
The “Log o’ Wood”was like the rugby version of the Holy Grail. When my family went to live in NZ for a few years when my dad was transferred there, Canterbury won the Shield and they had a procession through town. People cheered all the players and the Shield for what it represented.
Since 1976, when the NPC started up, holding it hasn’t been such a big deal, but it is still a revered item; so an ITM Cup game which is also a Ranfurly Shield challenge always has that extra edge.
Richard “Barracuda” Buckman tackled in last year’s game
About a year ago the Magpies of Hawkes Bay lost the Shield to the Steelers of Counties-Manukau after having it for only one week. The Steelers had retained it since then and the Magpies were bent on revenge when they met on the weekend.
Hawkes Bay started with a wet sail and dominance in the set pieces. By half time they were ahead 20-9 and their score included two tries from well-executed maul drives.
The Steelers rallied and got the lead at about the hour mark but lost it to a try against the run of play.
Towards the end they were four points down with a five-metre attacking lineout, but they couldn’t get their drive going and they surrendered the ball.
At the death they had one last chance as they raided the Hawkes Bay line repeatedly, but in the 83rd minute of the game they turned the ball over and the Magpies won 31-27.
Hawkes Bay now hold the “Log o’ Wood”
