"Personally for me I played in that match in 2000 that finally decided the shield and I did lose it. So it is uncontrolled delight basically because the next stage of my life is family so I am unlikely to be involved in the next series."
Team captain Aaron Westerby, 39, remembers as a 14-year-old watching New Zealand lose in Christchurch in 1990, which he says was quite a hard thing to do but it certainly built his resolve to one day win the shield.
New Zealand finished last in 2003 and 2006 but Westerby says 2010 was a turning point for the team. "This has been at least a three and a half year project and we thought we had a good opportunity to win this at home. It was a case of a lot of planning and getting the right people on board and motivated.
"We were lucky Toby, who was unavailable in 2010, signalled his intention again and we also had Chris Clarke who is a double world champion and former England player, married to [team mate] Jenny Clarke, which brought an enormous amount of experience into the squad."
Westerby hopes the series win will inspire the younger players to take the next step up.
"This is an opportunity for the next generation to come through and we will try and mentor them and bring them through."
Garrison was highly impressed with the standard of the facilities at the Mount Maunganui facilities that are another jewel in the Blake Park crown.
"They have done fantastically well. The quality of the lawns here is incredibly good. They have gone slightly outside their comfort zone as MacRobertson croquet demands lawns that are a bit different to what average club play demands.
"They have done brilliantly well and the facilities are superb. It won't be their last international event that's for sure."
