Marcus Agnew: Wellington will be gunning for the shield

Marcus Agnew

As soon as the Magpies won the Log o' Wood against Otago five weeks ago, all eyes went to the Mitre 10 Cup draw, lining up the potential permutations, and who might get a challenge before the year is out.

It was pretty obvious for all Hawke's Bay and Wellington fans that if the Magpies could devour the entrees of Northland and Manawatu, then there was a massive main course in store, an epic and mouth-watering event to decide the fate of rugby's most historic prize for another year.

Well, here we go people it's happening, the game of the year. Wellington is coming to town to try and get their hands on what has proven to be the most elusive of prizes for the people of the capital – the Ranfurly Shield.

Yes it's the battle of the Hurricanes franchise, the big brother trying to come and steal the prize. It's big games like this where you can get a true measure of a player's class, and so for Hurricanes selection it will be a big day for many of the players, and certainly the Hurricanes coaches.

So often over the years, Hawke's Bay players have been disadvantaged come selection time by their lack of proximity to the Hurricanes hub in Wellington and have missed out to the supposed big-name players in the capital. But hopefully the selectors are wiser to that now, and wiser to the conveyor-belt of talent that comes out of the sunny Hawke's Bay.

But the proof will be in the pudding tomorrow, the Sunday afternoon clash will be as intense as it gets between these unions. Certainly from Wellington's perspective, they have only held the shield once in the last nearly 40 years, so they'll be going for it, hammer and tongs.

Wellington have had an abysmal record in the modern history of the Ranfurly Shield, for the capital city to only win it once since 1982 is an incredible reality, so they will be quietly fired up for what is a huge opportunity for their city.

Winning it in 2008 with Piri Wepu at the helm, was a massive chimpanzee off the back, with the last win prior to that being a lifetime ago, way back in 1981 when the likes of Allan Hewson, Stu Wilson, Bernie Fraser and Murray Mexted were running around.

The hopes were that the shield would become a more regular visitor to the capital, but after losing it in 2009, they haven't seen it since.

To be fair, in terms of opportunities the cards haven't really fallen Wellington's way, they have only had one challenge since losing it in 2009, and guess who that challenge was against – that's right, the mighty Magpies, back in 2014, which resulted in a glorious victory for Hawke's Bay, 36-14.

Wellington held a huge home coming parade for the shield the last time they won it back in 2008, they thought they were going to get it in 2014, cruising up the highway to Napier, but the windy Wellington boys got blown away. They sure as heck won't want their little Hurricane brothers raining on their parade again, so expect a full force Wellington tomorrow.

Yes batten down the hatches, come Sunday afternoon it's gonna be on, on like donkey kong. Wellington will know they are coming into enemy territory, it was a raucous crowd in 2014 that helped the Magpies defend the shield, and it will be no different again tomorrow.

The capital boys have shown some pretty good form at times this year, when they are hot, they are hot to trot, but as is typical of Wellington, consistency is key, and doing the job up front.

Hawke's Bay will have plenty of motivation themselves, aside from the obvious pleasure of beating up on the big brother, the Magpies have a magnificent history with the Shield, which they have really added to over recent times.

Hawke's Bay's total number of shield defences is currently 56, which has them in fourth spot in history among all NZ unions, and well ahead of Wellington's 40 defences. If they can manage to hold the log tomorrow, they would have a golden chance in 2021 to overtake Waikato who currently are in third with 60 defences, which would be amazing and reinforce even further Hawke's Bay's special place in the history of the log.

But wait there's more, as if they didn't need any more motivation, their great leader Ash Dixon joins a select group on New Zealand rugby players when he plays his 250th first-class game tomorrow.

A huge accomplishment, a great test of his toughness and resilience to remain on the paddock for some many matches, and a great testament to his commitment and loyalty to New Zealand Rugby as well.

A convivial kick-off time of 2.05pm tomorrow should make for a Super Sunday in the Bay. Word is a host of Wellington old boys are making the trip up to Hawke's Bay for the weekend and the chance to get their hands on the Ranfurly Shield, so it should be a huge occasion – C'mon the Bay!

- Marcus Agnew: Community Development | International Rugby | Lecturer, researcher, initiator of Hawke's Bay's Institute of Sport & Health.