First Shield defence team hopes spark up weekend club rugby

Mark Ozich (left), pictured in 2017 as coach of a Hastings BHS 1st XV including Danny Toala (right), who is now in Ozich's Magpies squad preparing for 2021 Ranfurly Shield defence and NPC matches. Photo / Paul Taylor

It'll be the weekend of opportunity for Hawke's Bay Magpies hopefuls, as it will be the last chance to keep alive the dream of playing in a Ranfurly Shield match.

Coach Mark Ozich, running a wider training squad of over 30, will watch club rugby on Saturday and sit down with his coaching team on Sunday to decide a team for the first shield defence of the season against Heartland rugby champions North Otago at McLean Park, Napier, on Wednesday night.

He expects to publicly name the team on Monday, saying on Friday there will be some who will be playing their first Shield or national provincial match.

At least 10 of the Bay's top players are currently out of the picture because of commitments to the All Blacks, the Māori All Blacks, Samoa or Tonga.

They include captain Ash Dixon, who will lead the Māori All Blacks in Saturday's match against Samoa in Wellington, with fellow Hawke's Bay players Pouri Rakete-Stones and Isaia Walker-Leawere joining him in the forward pack and wing Jonah Lowe on the subs bench.

It's likely to be rest time for any others who had particularly busy Super Rugby seasons, such as loose forward Devon Flanders who, at the age of 21, has already played more than 50 first-class appearances for either the Hurricanes or the Magpies.

Ozich said his crew have an idea of the make-up of the 23 for Wednesday night's match, the fourth Shield defence since it was won in a challenge against Otago on October 4 last year.

Complementing some established Magpies, there will be some "debutants", and possibly more, for a scheduled second 2021 Shield defence against Ngati Porou East Coast on July 24, ahead of a near top-15 shakedown against Counties Manukau in Taupō on July 30, and the Bunnings Warehouse NPC premiership opener against Taranaki in New Plymouth on August 7.

But Ozich and other spies will still be out on Saturday watching the penultimate round of Maddison Trophy Premier championship club rugby, which will, however, be missing the scheduled top-of-the table clash between unbeaten trophy-holder Hastings Rugby and Sports and Nash Cup first-round winner Taradale.

The clubs have been rocked by the death of a Hastings player's child and the clubs have agreed to not play the game this weekend, with a suggestion of sharing the points.

Hawke's Bay union competition manager Sean Davies said the board would decide what to do about the situation on Monday.

Currently, third-placed OBM will be looking to maintain third place in an away game against Central in Waipukurau, and fourth-placed Clive play Tamatea at Bill Mathewson Park, Hastings.

The most realistic last-chance hopefuls for the top four, Napier Tech Old Boys – albeit adrift by a challenging five points - also play away, against MAC in Flaxmere.

Relegated side Napier Pirate have possibly a final chance of keeping in the race for an early promotion back to Premier rugby in a crucial Division 1 home match against Tech's Reserve team at Tamatea Park, Napier.