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Wellington Lions to play for Ranfurly Shield on Sunday

Ihaia West kicked four conversions when the Magpies beat the Lions 36-14 in their Ranfurly Shield defence in 2014. 

This coming Sunday the Wellington Lions challenge for the Ranfurly Shield at McLean Park, Napier against home side and holders the Hawke’s Bay Magpies.

Sunday’s Ranfurly Shield challenge will be the 99th match that Wellington has played for the Ranfurly Shield, either as a holder or a challenger, since their first in 1904. Of the 98 to date, Wellington has won 50, lost 42 and drawn six.

In the modern era, Shield challenges are rare for Wellington teams, their last tilt at the ‘Log o’ Wood’ was in 2014 (a loss to Hawke’s Bay) and before that in 2008 (a win over Auckland).

Wellington beat holders Auckland 6-3 in the inaugural Shield challenge match at Alexandra Park on 6 August 1904. Auckland were presented with the new Shield that was donated to the NZRU by Lord Ranfurly at the end of the 1902 season as they were recognised as the leading provincial union at that time. As all Auckland’s matches in 1903 were on tour it their first defence was against Wellington in the first home match of the following season.

Wellington has since won the Shield 10 times, as follows:

Season(s)                  Challenges Resisted
1904-05                     4
1914-20                     15
1921-22                       2
1930-31                       1
1953                             5
1956-57                       4
1963                             0
1974                              1
1981-82                       4
2008-09                     5

Wellington won the Ranfurly Shield off Taranaki (12-6) in 1914 and resisted a record 15 challenges before losing it to Southland in 1920, although no matches were played between 1915 and 1918. The loss to Southland was significant in that Wellington decided to take the Shield on ‘tour’ with them to the South Island. They successfully defended it away in Timaru to South Canterbury (32-16) and in Dunedin to Otago (16-5), before relinquishing it to Southland in Invercargill (6-17).

The following year in 1921 Southland returned the gesture to Wellington and brought the Shield north after one successful defence at home against Otago. Wellington duly obliged and recaptured the log (28-13), before in turn losing it to Hawke’s Bay (9-19) three defences later in 1922.

Wellington again captured the Shield off Southland in 1930 (12-3), defended it once against Southland (36-13) in 1931 before losing it to Canterbury (6-8).

Wellington rugby fans then had to wait 22 years for their next successful challenge when Wellington won it off Waikato (9-6), losing it to Canterbury (3-24) six matches later. They then regained it off Canterbury two seasons later (8-0), and lost it to Otago (11-19) in 1957 after four successful challenges.

Wellington next won the log o’ wood in 1963 when they beat Auckland 8-3 on 31 August and then lost it to Taranaki (3-17) a week later on 7 September. This is a joint record (with Waikato) for the shortest tenure – seven days.

Over the next decade Wellington played in five unsuccessful Shield challenges – 0-3 and 3-11 against Taranaki in 1964 and 1965, 12-all and 6-14 against Hawke’s Bay in 1967 and 1969 and 3-3 against Canterbury in 1970. The two draws against Hawke’s Bay and Canterbury were particularly close, with Hawke’s Bay first five-eighth Blair Furlong kicking a last-gasp dropped kick to retain the Shield in Napier and Canterbury fullback Fergie McCormack stepping up to kick a last minute penalty in Christchurch.

Wellington fans’ patience went rewarded in 1981 when the team travelled to Hamilton for a mid-week challenge and took the Shield off Waikato 22-4. This was the last game of the season and they also won the second of their four NPC titles to date that year.

In 1982 there were successful challenges against Marlborough (31-6), Wanganui (30-9), Hawke’s Bay (13-12) and Taranaki (19-6) before Canterbury came to town on 18 September and won 16-12.

Wellington’s next challenge against Auckland in 2008 thus came some 26 years and two days after the Capital last held the Shield, and followed 10 unsuccessful challenges between 1983-2005.

Four of these ten were against Auckland in consecutive challenges, in 1987 (18-33), 1989 (6-29), 1991 (21-31) and 1993 (14-51), while the previous four have all been cliffhangers. These include a 24-30 loss to Waikato in 1999 a 29-31 defeat to Canterbury in 2001, a 38-all draw against Canterbury in 2003 and a 14-15 loss to the Cantabrians in 2005.

They beat Auckland 27-0 at Eden Park, returned home to stave off Tasman in one successful defence, before defending it against Wairarapa-Bush, Wanganui, Otago and Auckland. Canterbury came to town on 29 August 2009 and won 36-14.

Since then, Wellington has had just one challenge in the past 11 years.

Ironically, this was against Hawke’s Bay in Napier on 1 October 2014 and the Magpies won 36-14. In fact, Wellington scored just one try that night in Napier, to Matt Proctor. Flyhalf Willie Ripia also kicked three penalties.

Some overall Ranfurly Shield records at a glance:

  • Auckland holds the Ranfurly Shield record for the longest tenure with 61 successful defences between 1985 and 1993.
  • The record for most tries by an individual in all Ranfurly Shield matches is held by Terry Wright of Auckland with 53.
  • The record for most tries by an individual in a Ranfurly Shield match is eight by John Kirwan for Auckland against North Otago in 1993.
  • The record for most points by an individual in all Ranfurly Shield matches is held by Grant Fox of Auckland with 932.
  • The record for most Ranfurly Shield matches played is held by Grant Fox of Auckland with 57.
  • The highest score by a team in all Ranfurly Shield matches was registered by Auckland in beating North Otago 139-5 in 1993.

Wellington v Hawke’s Bay 1967

A previously published elsewhere recap of the famous match in 1967, drawn 12-12 on 30 September 1967

There have been some epic Wellington-Hawke’s Bay clashes over the years, such as 1982’s Ranfurly Shield defence at Athletic Park when Allan Hewson landed a sideline conversion to win 13-12, Hawke’s Bay’s upset 19-9 Shield win in Wellington in 1922 that was the start of their first great era, and their 8-6 win last year in Napier.

One of  the most famous matches of them all was in 1967 when Hawke’s Bay repelled Wellington’s Ranfurly Shield challenge in Napier right on fulltime, with a last gasp dropped kick saving the day and the Shield for the Magpies.

Hawke’s Bay first five-eighth Blair Furlong potted the match winning dropped goal from the base of an attacking scrum inside his 22 in the 80th minute to clinch a 12-all draw and see his side retain the Shield against Wellington by the slimmest of margins.

Furlong, who had spent the previous season in Wellington and represented Wellington B and  four years earlier as a teenager had missed a similar dropped goal in a Ranfurly Shield challenge against Auckland, became the hero with this kick as the 25,000-strong McLean Park crowd flocked on to the field in celebration.

It was heartbreak for Wellington, who had been leading 12-6 early in the second half and, led by prop and captain Ken Gray and the educated left boot of first five-eighth Mattie Blackburn, were in control and looked likely to bring the Shield back home with them after their previous tenure with it three years earlier had lasted a week. Wellington’s points had come from the respective boots of fullback Mick Williment who kicked two penalties and Blackburn who kicked two dropped goals.

Hawke’s Bay had scored the only try of the match in the first half when right winger Mick Duncan crashed over near the corner in the tackle of Wellington flanker Graham Williams and fullback Ian Bishop added a penalty.

But in a hard-fought forward dominated battle, the home side fought back late in the second half and a turning point came when Blackburn was forced from the field injured, the victim of a dubious late tackle by Bay captain Kel Tremain. From there Bishop kicked his second penalty to put his side behind 12-9, before Furlong potted the equaliser and Shield-retaining goal on fulltime.

For famous Wellington coach Bill Freeman, who was still coaching college rugby teams until well into the 1990s,  this was one of several near-misses to bring the Shield back to Wellington. These included 3-0 and 11-0 losses to Taranaki in 1964 and 1965 and a 14-6 loss to the Hawke’s Bay again in 1969.

Then history was to repeat itself for Wellington exactly three years later to the day, when on 30 September 1970 Freeman’s side, now captained by Williams, travelled to Canterbury for a challenge. In a game of missed opportunities, and outstanding second half defence, Canterbury fullback Fergie McCormack stepped up and kicked a late dropped goal from an attacking scrum that gave Canterbury a 3-all draw to see them retain the log o’ wood.

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Wellington v Tasman Stat Attack: Tasman 19 – Wellington 3

By Peter Marriott

  • Wellington’s overall record in all NPC matches is played 465, won 291 (62.6%), lost 162, and drawn 12.Wellington’s record in NPC matches against Tasman is played 12, won five, lost seven and drawn none.
  • Wellington won the first five encounters between the two sides from 2006 to 2010. Since then Tasman has won every one of the seven matches played, the worst losing sequence Wellington has faced against all 13 of the other sides in this year’s competition, from the same number of matches played.
  • This was the first time Wellington has recorded single figures in a home match since losing the 2008 Final 6-7, against Canterbury, at Wellington.
  • Before this match Wellington had not scored three or fewer points since losing 0-32 against Bay of Plenty, at Mt Maunganui, in July 2011.
  • The last time Wellington failed to score a try in a match was against North Harbour at Wellington in September 2016. There were exactly 50 matches played in between.
  • This was the 26th time Wellington has been tryless in a NPC match, and there have been 465 of them. This was the first time an opposition side failed to kick a conversion against Wellington since they played Waikato at Hamilton in September 2015. Waikato did score a try in that match.
  • Wellington was down 0-11 at halftime against Tasman. The last time they were scoreless at the break was against Waikato, at Hamilton, in September 2018.
  • Wellington scored three points in a NPC match for just the third time. The last occasion was against North Harbour, at Wellington, in September 2003. Wellington lost that match 3-15.
  • Wellington’s points against Tasman were not scored until the 66th minute. In their previous seven matches Wellington’s tally at the 66 minute mark was, respectively, against Waikato (28 points), Auckland (32), Bay of Plenty (27), Canterbury (26), Otago (34), North Harbour (25) and Counties Manukau (25).
  • Wellington has conceded 19 points in NPC matches on 11 occasions. The match against Tasman was the first one Wellington has lost when an opposition side scored 19 points.
  • Wellington played its first NPC match at Jerry Collins Stadium having previously played their home matches at Athletic Park (112), Westpac/Sky Stadium (120) and one at the Petone Recreation Ground, against South Canterbury, in 1980.
  • Wellington’s starting XV against Tasman, plus the eight substitutes, was exactly as that used in their previous match against Counties Manukau. The last time the same XV started in successive matches was in last year’s Semi-final and Final against Canterbury and Tasman respectively.
  • However, there were two changes to the substitutes bench for the second match.
  • A total of 215 different players have scored points in this year’s competition including 20 from Wellington.
  • Exactly 200 different players have scored at least one try this year, including 19 from Wellington.
  • Wellington players have scored 33 tries between them. The team lies in third place on the try scoring table after Tasman (with 37), and Auckland (35).
  • With 18 penalties conceded, Wellington still lies in first place for the most kicked against any side.
  • Wellington has aggregated 240 points in their eight matches played to date. They are third on the table for most points scored after Tasman (with 262), and Auckland (242).
  • The match between Wellington and Tasman was the 2,650th Division 1 match to be played in the National Provincial Championship since it began in 1976.
  • James Blackwell and Vaea Fifita both appeared in their 50th match for Wellington. Fifita had made his debut against North Harbour at Wellington in August 2013, and Blackwell against Taranaki at New Plymouth in August 2015.
  • This match against Tasman was Blackwell’s third in charge, and his first loss.
  • Connor Collins started his second match in succession: the first time he has done so.
  • Billy Proctor and Jackson Garden-Bachop are vying for the top position for most minutes played outin the middle. At the moment Proctor has a total of 632 minutes to Garden-Bachop’s 631. The maximum number of minutes which could have been played is 645: after eight matches.
  • Jackson Garden-Bachop’s solitary penalty goal took his points tally in 2020 to 76. He is second overall on the point scorers table after Bryn Gatland of North Harbour who now has 101.

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