Special memories of Timaru

FITNESS TEST: Finnbarr Kerr-Newell, Wairarapa-Bush prop has a slight injury hassle.

Bob Francis will be guest of honour at a special reunion being held to coincide with the Heartland championship rugby match between Wairarapa-Bush and South Canterbury in Timaru on Saturday.

The event is being held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of South Canterbury lifting the Ranfurly Shield from Marlborough at Lansdowne Park, Blenheim, in August 1974, in what was the first of 12 games involving the famous "log of wood" Masterton's former long-time mayor was to control in a distinguished refereeing career.

Francis recalls Marlborough starting the hottest of favourites to set aside the South Canterbury challenge. The Red Devils, as the home side became known, had caused a big upset of their own when they lifted the prized trophy from Canterbury the previous season and with quality players like the Sutherland brothers, Ray and Alan, Jimmy Joseph and Brian Ford leading the way the expectations were that South Canterbury simply wouldn't have the firepower to keep them in sight.

As has happened so often in Shield games over the years, however, the underdog rose brilliantly to the occasion and their 18-6 win was thoroughly deserved.

"They had Lansdowne Park packed to the gunwales, there were probably 30,000 people there and most of them were expecting to cheer Marlborough to a comfortable win," Francis said. "But South Canterbury took it to them, scored a really great try, and actually won quite easily in the end."

As was to be expected, the reaction from the two camps to the performance of the man with the whistle was rather different.

"The local supporters were pretty upset about the way things had gone and I copped a fair bit of heat from them but South Canterbury were delighted.

"I was a bit of a hero in their books."

That Blenheim success represented only the second time South Canterbury had won the Ranfurly Shield, the first coming against Wairarapa in Masterton in 1950 when they got home by a narrow 17-14. The 1974 side successfully defended it with a 9-3 win over North Otago a fortnight later before succumbing to Wellington by the same scoreline.

And they haven't had their hands on the "log" since.

Making Francis' trip to Timaru even more enjoyable would be seeing Wairarapa-Bush take vital Heartland championship points off South Canterbury who sit on top of the points table.

The improvement shown from their first-up loss to King Country in the 23-23 draw with defending Meads Cup titleholders Mid-Canterbury at Memorial Park last weekend has led to the same Wairarapa-Bush squad being chosen for the southern assignment with one exception, Carterton prop Ollie Terblanche replacing his clubmate, Jacko Hull.

The likelihood is that Terblanche will come off the reserves bench although first choice prop Finnbarr Kerr-Newell does have a slight injury and will probably have to pass a fitness test at training tonight to be given the nod in the starting line-up.

Head coach Mark Rutene was giving little away when asked yesterday whether any other changes to the side which initially took the field against Mid-Canterbury were in the wind.

"There are two or three options we are looking at but we haven't made any decisions yet," he said.