Red tape rains on Canterbury's shield parade

Screaming rugby fans will be missing from Christchurch streets in the lead-up to Saturday's Canterbury-Wellington Ranfurly Shield clash.

The traditional parade has been canned after the organisers, the Canterbury Rugby Supporters Club, discovered they had to provide a traffic management plan.

The last shield parade, in September 1995, attracted 70 floats. Canterbury lost the shield to Auckland that day, but took it off Waikato in September last year.

Supporters club president Dick Tayler said preparing a traffic plan would cost up to $6000 and there was "no way" the club could afford it.

Vance Stewart, who was the Canterbury coach when the team took the shield off Waikato in 1994, said the parade was a tradition which would be missed.

"It gives the opposition a chance to show off their colours and is an opportunity for the grass-roots supporters to get involved."

Council traffic engineer Brain Neill said rules introduced in July required a traffic management plan for any event which closed a road.

- NZPA