Guess what had Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby team co-coach Craig Philpott buzzing the most as he digested the Mitre 10 Cup draw.
"That potential Ranfurly Shield challenge against Counties-Manukau ... it jumped out at me. We've got a chance to repeat what we did in 2014 but obviously we can't get too far ahead of ourselves," Philpott said referring to the Magpies 27-21 win in Pukekohe three years ago.
Should the Steelers take the shield off Canterbury on September 13 in Christchurch the Magpies will have the next challenge in Pukekohe four days later. Otago and Southland will challenge Canterbury for the log of wood before the Steelers but Philpott believed the Steelers had the best chance of lifting it.
The Magpies will have a week to prepare for the challenge should it eventuate as their last encounter before travelling to ECOLight Stadium will be a home game against Otago at Napier's McLean Park on September 10. This match will be the Magpies third in what Philpott described as the team's "Storm Week."
It will begin with Canterbury at McLean Park on September 1 and will also include a September 6 away match against the Wellington Lions. Philpott stressed the Lions and Otago fixtures were key matches in the Magpies quest to repeat their 2015 Championship title-winning feat to enable a return to the Premiership.