Hugh Renton with the Highlanders in a Super Rugby Pacific match against the Brumbies in Dunedin in March. He returns to the black-and-white jersey for Friday night's Ranfurly Shield match. Photo / Photosport
Hugh Renton with the Highlanders in a Super Rugby Pacific match against the Brumbies in Dunedin in March. He returns to the black-and-white jersey for Friday night's Ranfurly Shield match. Photo / Photosport
Hugh Renton with the Highlanders in a Super Rugby Pacific match against the Brumbies in Dunedin in March. He returns to the black-and-white jersey for Friday night's Ranfurly Shield match. Photo / Photosport
Starting at 7.05pm, it will be part two of a double-header, with the Hawke’s Bay Tui and Northland Kauri playing a Farah Palmer Cup women’s match, for which the teams will be named on Thursday, starting at 4.35pm.
Lindisfarne College old boy Renton, 28 and standing 1.93m tall, will line up at No 8, taking the place of Tongan international Josh Kaifa, who hobbled off injured in the first five minutes of last Saturday’s 31-17 successful Shield defence against the Southland Stags, also in Napier.
He has had 38 appearances in Super Rugby, all but one being for the Highlanders, and was last month confirmed as returning to Hawke’s Bay on a two-year contract.
Characterising the depth in the squad of head coach Brock James, Renton’s appearance on Friday is one of five changes in the starting line-up, including three in the forwards, where prop Pouri Rakete Stones and Isaiah Walker Leawere carry on where they left off in replacing Tim Farrell and George Cridge respectively.
The others are Neria Fomai, who replaces Freedom Vaha’akolo on one wing, and Harry Godfrey, who entered play late in the game in place of Mat Protheroe, at fullback.
Hugh Renton (red jersey) meeting some past and future teammates while playing for Tasman in a Ranfurly Shield challenge at McLean Park in 2021. Photo / Paul Taylor
Introduced to the 23 for the first time this season is hooker Tyrone Thompson, who will be on the substitutes bench.
The Magpies go into the game with two wins from two games in the NPC, and three successful Shield defences this season, while Northland hit McLean Park on the back of a week-two home win over Manawatū.
Hawke’s Bay and Northland have met just three times in Shield matches, all three being Magpies wins at McLean Park.
The first was a famed 10-8 win in which the visitors, then known as North Auckland, claimed they were robbed by a poor refereeing decision in the awarding of a try to Magpies hero Kel Tremain, and the others a 39-10 finish in 2015 and a 33-17 result in 2020.
Northland last won a Shield challenge against Manawatū in 1978, with some Hawke’s Bay supporters watching in anticipation of a challenge a few days later, had the trophy remained in Palmerston North.
That dream disappeared when Northland won 12-10 with a penalty goal in controversially long referee’s time after the clock had ticked past 80 minutes.
The Hawke’s Bay Magpies team for Friday night’s Ranfurly Shield defence and Bunnings Warehouse NPC rugby match at McLean Park, Napier:
Pouri Rakete Stones, Jacob Devery, Joel Hintz; Isaia Walker-Leawere, Tom Parsons (captain); Frank Lochore, Sam Smith; Hugh Renton; Folau Fakatava, Lincoln McClutchie; Ben O’Donnell, Kienan Higgins, Nick Grigg, Neria Fomai, Harry Godfrey. Reserves: Tyrone Thompson, Hadlee Hay-Horton, Joe Apikotoa, Geoff Cridge, Cooper Flanders, Ereatara Enari, Danny Toala, Mat Protheroe.
