Ranfurly Shield: Chance for coaches to join rare club
"We were highly prepared for [Otago] and we need to make sure we are highly prepared for [Hawke’s Bay]… There is a hell of an opportunity."
Want to get Southland Tribune editions sent directly to your email inbox? Simply enter your email address.
Matt Saunders and James Wilson have an opportunity to pen their names into a special club which at the moment has just one other member.
In 2009 and 2011 Saunders and Wilson both won the Ranfurly Shield with Southland as players. They will now coach the Southland team together when the Stags take on Hawke’s Bay in Napier in a Ranfurly Shield challenge on Saturday.
Victory would see Saunders and Wilson join Ron Ward who won a Ranfurly Shield challenge as both a player and coach with Southland.
Ward was part of the 1937 team that beat Otago to lift the Ranfurly Shield.
In 1959 Ward then coached Southland when it beat Taranaki in New Plymouth to bring the Ranfurly Shield back to the deep south.
Saunders and Wilson know too well what a Ranfurly Shield victory would mean for the province of Southland.
Speaking soon after the confidence-boosting Donald Stuart Memorial Shield win over Otago on Saturday, Saunders said the Ranfurly Shield would be discussed this week in the lead-up to the trip to Napier.
“It deserves a mention. We were highly prepared for [Otago] and we need to make sure we are highly prepared for [Hawke’s Bay]… There is a hell of an opportunity.
“We can win, we’ve got the belief.
“We’ve got to play better though. Monday we will be back to work, and then we’ve got the defending champions [Taranaki, the following Saturday]. It’s a great three weeks.” he said.
“It’s not easy to win the Shield, you’ve got to go play some rugby and win it, except for in 2009,” Saunders said poking a bit of fun at his team which won the Ranfurly Shield with a 9-3 scoreline.
Some of the current day Southland players were caught up in that Ranfurly Shield hype the last time the Stags claimed the prized possession.
Captain Sean Withy is included in that group.
“It was something pretty special. I was growing up when Southland had the Shield, when I was a kid, so it’s something in the back of my mind, it’s going to be pretty cool,” Withy said about Saturday’s challenge.
Southland will take on a Hawke’s Bay team that is coming off a round one 41-32 victory over North Harbour.
The Stags will be without wing Michael Manson and midfielder Matt Whaanga who both picked up hamstring injuries last week. Manson pulled his hamstring at training on Thursday and Whaanga inside the first minute against Otago.
Saunders said Manson’s injury shouldn’t rule him out long-term.
“It’s not a really bad one, maybe three or four weeks, so hopefully for Northland maybe. But it’s a pain in the arse because we were really excited to unleash him.”
He was hopeful Whaanga would also be back playing an important role later in the season.
“We are a bit short but we’ll get him back for the back end, we need him back,” Saunders said.
Faletoi Peni did a superb job replacing Whaanga against Otago and while he probably isn’t in a position to go 80 minutes at the moment it would be a surprise if the Stags didn’t unleash Peni against Hawke’s Bay as well.
Other midfield options in the Stags squad include Englishman Charlie Powell, who started on the wing against Otago, and Angus Simmers.
Isaac Te Tamaki started at centre in the Stag Day triumph and will again be an important figure in the shot at Southland winning the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in 13 years.
The Southland-Hawke’s Bay game in Napier on Saturday will kick-off at 4.35pm.