Boxing stars Lani Daniels (Ngāti Hine) and Mea Motu (Te Rarawa) will both compete in their hometown Whangārei. Video / Te Ao Māori News
The Rangiora Showgrounds have hosted all sorts over the years.
Horses, cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys have graced the fields - but never professional rugby.
That’ll change on Saturday afternoon when Canterbury take on Taranaki in the NPC.
The fixture is part of a wider celebration of localrugby with the Southbridge Shield - in its centennial year - to be contested beforehand between North Canterbury and Ellesmere.
“It’s probably been 18 months in the planning,” Canterbury Rugby chief executive Tony Smail said.
“As we came out of Covid [lockdown] we talked about the Southbridge Shield and its 100th year and thought wouldn’t it be awesome to try and connect our NPC team deliberately back into our community. We’re pretty excited about it.”
A lot of work has been done to bring the ground up to scratch. Photo / Kurt Bayer
Turning a vision into a reality has been no small task. Outside of hosting North Canterbury’s annual A&P Show, the Showgrounds’ primary use is for equestrian competitions.
It’s been more than a decade since any level of rugby has been held there after the amalgamation of local clubs Rangiora and Southbrook to form Saracens in 2006.
While the holes in the ground for the goalposts remain, the pitch and surrounds have needed attention.
“The Showgrounds committee have been awesome, they came on board straight away,” Smail said.
“Both our sub-unions, the regional council, Mainpower, every stakeholder is trying to make it work. It’s extensive the infrastructure there for the day. Our Rugby Park groundsman has worked with external contractors to make sure the [playing] environment is okay. That’s been going for the last two months to get the field up to a standard that it’s good enough.”
Smail’s quick to point out this isn’t a money-making, or money-saving exercise, but it does raise the question of whether occasions like this will become a regular fixture.
The level of interest in the NPC, particularly in the big cities, has been on a steady decline.
It led New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson to recently call the competition “not fit for purpose”.
Canterbury have opted to close off one of the main grandstands at their home venue in Christchurch in recent years in a bid to create a more intimate atmosphere and limit costs.
Wellington have hosted NPC games at the Hutt Recreation Grounds instead of Sky Stadium this year while North Harbour have returned to their spiritual home at Onewa Domain.
“There’s no doubt playing in a big stadium isn’t the most attractive for some games,” Smail said.
The Rangiora Showgrounds will host a rugby match for the first time in more than a decade. Photo / Kurt Bayer
“Each union is doing it for different reasons. Everybody wants to connect back to the local community but sometimes it’s different drivers. Ours is purely a connection to the community and representing who we actually perform for.
“We have the ability to take one home game a season away from [Apollo Projects Stadium] under our current lease agreement. “If this hits all the goals, we’ll be looking to carry it on and connect.”
Should that materialise, expect minimal resistance from the players.
While the facilities at Rangiora are a step below what they’ve become accustomed to, Canterbury and Crusaders flanker Tom Christie sees the big picture.
“Playing in big stadiums is nice, but it’s obviously not as nice when they’re not full,” Christie said.
“I think that’s one thing the NPC has missed over the last few years is having an atmosphere. Our fans are amazing, and they always bring the voice when they’re there, but when they’re so spread out it’s hard. I’ve been a fan as well watching games and that atmosphere is always better when you’re cram-packed. The more we can replicate that, the better.”
“Cram-packed” is what Canterbury’s hoping for. It’s almost entirely standing room only outside of one small grandstand on halfway.
There are no ticket sales online, it’s very much first-in, first-served, in a rare first for Canterbury and these showgrounds.
Nick Bewley is a Newstalk ZB sports journalist, sports news reader, and commentator based in Christchurch. He’ll be calling the match live on Gold Sport and iHeartRadio.
