Family deal should help pack out park

Ihaia West takes the field before the Hawkes Bay Magpies Ranfurly Shield defence game against Bay of Plenty Steamers at McLean Park in Napier.

Families will be able to get into next Wednesday night's Ranfurly Shield match at McLean Park in Napier for almost half-price, the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union announced yesterday.

Commercial and marketing manager Jay Campbell said a school holidays special Family Pack for up to six people (two adults and four children) for the Hawke's Bay Magpies' defence against the Wellington Lions is available for $32.50, a saving of $25.

The tickets can be purchased only direct from the Union and will be available up to midday on Wednesday. The match starts at 7.35pm, as set in the ITM Cup draw more than six months ago.

The seats will be in the TicketDirect embankment-end temporary stand which was first used for the September 6, test between the All Blacks and Argentina.

It's part of the Hawke's Bay union's plan to pack the park to over 10,000, which will take accumulated crowd attendances in four games at the park in just three-and-half weeks to more than 50,000, a figure unheard of since the Magpies three-year shield reign at the end of the 1960s.

Further plans, including pre-match entertainment, poster-signing and rugby involving Hawke's Bay's prospective stars of the future, are expected to be known over the next few days.

The match is expected to also appeal to the nostalgic core, reflecting on the last three Ranfurly Shield matches between Hawke's Bay and Wellington.

Current union president Blair Furlong landed an ever-celebrated death-knell field goal for Hawke's Bay to snatch a 12-12 draw and retain the shield at McLean Park in September 1967, the next shield match between the two in August 1969 attracted what remains the record crowd for the park (over 26,000) and in 1982 Wellington escaped with a 13-12 win defending the Shield at Athletic Park, Wellington.