Annual schools Ross Shield rugby-fest comes to Central Hawke’s Bay

Waipukurau gets its chance to throw a smaller-town spotlight on the Ross Shield Hawke’s Bay primary schools rugby tournament when it starts on Tuesday.

The Napier team in the moment of triumph after winning the Ross Shield tournament in Napier last year. In Waipukurau, Napier will start their campaign to try to win the 122-year-old trophy for a third year in row. Photo / Paul Taylor

Back in town for the first time since 2018, when the trophy was shared by Napier and Hastings West, the tournament will open with a parade of the six representative teams through the main street of the Waipukurau. It starts from the Tavistock Hotel corner at 10am, with a formal opening and return of the trophies by 2023 winners at the Green Patch, ahead of the first matches later in the day.

The tournament dates back to 1902 and was, for most of the time, contested by primary school teams representing Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union sub-unions Wairoa, Napier, Hastings, Central Hawke’s Bay, Dannevirke and Taupō. However, after Taupō joined King Country in 1988, the number of six teams was retained by repositioning Hastings as Hastings West and Hastings East.

Teams play a game each day for five days, with the competition decided on the round-robin play, with playoffs or final.

The reigning champions are Napier, who won last year’s tournament in Napier with possibly the tournament’s most dominant record. They scored 301 points with just 17 against, the closest result being a 29-5 win over Hastings West. Central Hawke’s Bay and Dannevirke hold the Life Members’ Salver for competition among the three country sub-unions, having drawn 17-17 in their game last year.

Trophies are also presented for the player of the tournament, the best female and the fairest and most sportsman-like team.

Napier will be going for a third title in a row, having won at Dannevirke in 2022, and six times in the last 10 years. They are expected to be challenged most closely by the two Hastings sides.

Hastings West last won the shield in 2019 in Wairoa, scoring 253 points and conceding just 22, and Hastings East last won in 2021, when the tournament was played in Hastings.

The tournament is for players aged under 14 with a maximum weight of 56kg, although exemptions allow for two players up to 58kg in the Central Hawke’s Bay, Dannevirke and Wairoa teams. The tournament will be followed by the Wakely Shield tournament in Taradale on October 7-11, for players aged under 13 with a maximum weight of 50kg.

The draw for the week is:

Tuesday: Central HB v Hastings West, 1pm; Napier v Wairoa, 2pm; Hastings East v Dannevirke, 3pm.

Wednesday: Napier v Dannevirke, 1pm; Central HB v Wairoa, 2pm; Hastings East v Hastings West, 3pm.

Thursday: Central HB vs Napier, 1pm; Hastings East v Wairoa, 2pm; Dannevirke v Hastings West, 3pm.

Friday: Central HB v Dannevirke, 1pm; Napier v Hastings East, 2pm; Hastings West v Wairoa, 3pm.

Saturday: Napier v Hastings West, 11am; Dannevirke v Wairoa, noon; Central HB v Hastings East, 1pm.