History beckons for our Mighty Mako when at 7pm tonight they take on Wellington for the Ranfurly Shield at Sky Stadium.
Nelson has never held the iconic Log o’ Wood. The Shield was donated to the NZ Rugby Football Union by the Governor of New Zealand and Earl of Ranfurly in 1902. The Shield is so old and been handled by so many rugby fans over the decades that it has had to be completely restored, a job just finished last week.
Canterbury and Auckland have both held it 16 times and Wellington, the current holders, 11 times. Our Mako partners in Marlborough, won the Shield 50 years ago in 1973 and successfully defended it six times.
It was an inspired decision to merge the Nelson and Marlborough Rugby Unions in 2006 to form the Tasman Rugby Union and Mako. The early years were tough but the strength of the new union was proven in winning the 2013 ITM Championship Cup and promotion to the top tier of the NPC. They have made the finals four times since, winning titles in 2019 and 2020.
This is our Mako’s fourth crack at claiming the Ranfurly Shield. We were unsuccessful in 2008 against Wellington by 20-26, in 2012 against Taranaki by 40-49 and in 2021 against Hawke’s Bay by 22-34.
Our Mako made a great start to this season, making a feast of Otago 27-15 in their Bunnings Warehouse NPC opener and then beating Auckland 24-12. They took a knock at the weekend, losing 32-5 to Northland. Wellington will be tough opponents. They have won all three starting games this season and won the NPC last year.
We wish Co-Captains Mitch Hunt and Quinten Strange, Coaches Gray Cornelius and Dan Perrin and every member of the squad every success.
Nelson has a proud rugby history, from the day of the very first game in New Zealand played at the Botanical Gardens on 14 May 1870. My hope is that 23 August 2023 will be equally etched in our rugby history as the day our Mako won the Log o’ Wood. Fins up!
