Magpies poised for historic Labour Weekend shield defence

What it means - the Magpies arrive in Napier after winning the Ranfurly Shield by beat Otago 28-9 in Dunedin on October 4. Photo / Paul Taylor

The Ranfurly Shield has been viewed as the holy grail of New Zealand rugby about 116 years - but the trophy has entered one of its rarest weeks ahead of Hawke's Bay's Labour weekend defence against Manawatu.

Starting at 4.35pm on Saturday at McLean Park, Napier, this match is the latest the trophy has been played for in any year - thus the first on a holiday weekend, part of an equation which has the Hawke's Bay Rugby Football Union expecting almost anything when it comes to crowd size.

Commercial manager Dan Somerville talks figures of around 6000 – well down from the 8388 officially credited with being at the successful first defence against Northland at the less attractive time of 7.05pm on Friday night.

But with the multi-variables of being the first Ranfurly Shield match ever on a holiday weekend, and the latest in any year since the Shield first went on the line in 1904, he would not be surprised if he was a couple of thousand out.

The biggest factor – in line with ever-increasing trends since McLean Park was the venue for New Zealand's first live coverage of first-class rugby in 1972 - is whether the punters want to spend a couple of hours in front of TV or outdoors at the park on what is forecast to be a sunny Hawke's Bay late afternoon and evening.

The biggest draw should be that it's a Ranfurly Shield match between neighbouring unions, once so close that for two seasons, in 1997-1998 they merged teams to contest the National Provincial Championship as the Central Vikings. If this were the 1966-1969 Hawke's Bay Ranfurly Shield era a crowd of close to 20,000 could have been contemplated.

Being a holiday weekend, people will be travelling both in and out of Hawke's Bay, heading to Mahia, Waimarama or Blackhead, or taking the kids to the Hawke's Bay A&P Show amusements carnival in Hastings, maybe with the sense that the Shield will still be in Hawke's Bay for a big day out at the park on the Sunday afternoon of November 8.

Amidst that is the current form: the Hawke's Bay Magpies lead the Mitre 10 Cup championship table with 20 points from four wins in six games, while the Manawatu Turbos are at the bottom, without a single win but garnering four bonus points.

Mason Emerson in action against the Manawatu Turbos on McLean Park in 2018. Photo / File

In the space of four games, the Magpies have beaten Canterbury for the first time in 38 years, won the Ranfurly Shield with a win by 19 points over Otago, and defended it for the first time with victory by 16 points over Northland, while Manawatu have had four consecutive defeats, twice with the opposition scoring more than 50 points.

Thus, TAB bookmakers see it just one way, opening betting on Monday with Hawke's Bay a hot favourite paying $1.12 to win and Manawatu at $5.55.

It will be Hawke's Bay's 99th match for the Shield, dating back to the first challenge against Wellington in 1905.

Four have been against Manawatu – starting with a 31-5 win at Nelson Park in Hastings in 1924, followed by a 43-year wait for the next, an 11-6 win in 1967 in the first defence after the previous season's successful challenge against Waikato.

The Bay beat Manawatu 22-6 six games before the end of the 1966-1969 reign, and the last match was Manawatu's 15-3 win in Palmerston North in the second defence after winning the Shield for the first and only time in 1976.

Somerville points out that challengers notoriously rise to the occasion, rendering the formline irrelevant. "They come to win the Shield," he says.

Saturday will also be one of the biggest days of the season for Heartland Championship unions, which have been deprived of their usual competition because of the financial impacts of the Covid-19 crisis, and have also had to cut costs of travel.

The curtain-raiser will be between Poverty Bay and Wanganui.