Jafa-bashing banners ruled offside

The identity of the boy holding the 2001 'I hate Auckland' sign, which sparked controversy, remains a mystery.

A banner competition is being run by the Canterbury Rugby Union for tonight's Ranfurly Shield clash, but union bosses will frown on any home-made Auckland-bashing signs among the expected bumper crowd.

Canterbury union spokeswoman Joanne Perry said 20,500 tickets had been sold by lunchtime yesterday, and it was hoped the walk-up crowd would take sales beyond 25,000. Jade Stadium's capacity is 35,000.

Conditions for the game will be cold and wet, said MetService forecaster Gerard Bellam.

Showers in the Garden City will combine with cold southwesterly winds during the day, and snow is expected down to 700m on Banks Peninsula.

The players might need their gloves, Mr Bellam said. "They will need their merino and possum skin beanies and undergarments. They always cut a dashing figure do the Aucklanders, with their matching hairstyles."

Ms Perry said the winner of the banner competition would get a trip to Queenstown or Sydney, but it seems anyone holding up a negative message would have a better chance of being evicted from the stadium.

The infamous 2001 photograph of a boy expressing his hate of Auckland during a Canterbury-Auckland match at Jade still causes deep ructions at the home team's Christchurch headquarters.

The boy's identity remains a mystery, despite the picture having been widely published.

Television, radio and newspaper journalists have this week attempted to find the boy, said the photographer who took the picture, John McCombe. He said he could not help out with the boy's name because he shot the picture from far away, and never came into direct contact with him.

Canterbury union bosses were not happy when the picture was printed, said Mr McCombe. "I was told if I took another negative photo at Jade I'd be banned for life."

In 2001 the stadium's groundsman, Chris Lewis, said he believed the boy should have been barred from entering the ground again.

To this day the picture continues to be a sore point. When the Herald asked Ms Perry for help in identifying the boy, she politely declined the request, citing sensitivities about the picture.

"We don't want to get into that. If I asked around the office I would be met with a glare.

"People were not happy when that was published.

"It's not a good look for us, we wouldn't want to be involved in Auckland-bashing."