Northland rugby fans dream of Taniwha having Ranfurly Shield Challenge this Mitre 10 Cup season

"Obsessive'' rugby fans Arriane Christie and William Morunga cheer on Northland home and away and are dreaming of the Taniwha having a Ranfurly Shield challenge this season - if the stars align.

The Ranfurly Shield has changed hands twice already this season and we're only coming into week four of the Mitre 10 Cup.

I am sure there are many other Taniwha supporters wondering how Northland might just be able to get their hands on it.

As a long time Taniwha fan, but one only in my mid-30s, I dream of the day that my team in Cambridge Blue wins the famous Log o' Wood. It has not happened in my lifetime.

The Shield is a New Zealand icon, but I have never seen it in the flesh. If you look back on the holders of the last couple of decades, teams like Waikato, Canterbury, and Taranaki pop up quite a few times.

You have to go back to 1978 before you see anything resembling Northland won the shield - and even then, it wasn't Northland as we know it now, it was North Auckland. (It lost the Shield the following season)

By my own admission, I am an obsessive Taniwha fan. Yes, I am that one that takes the signs to the games.

But another 'quirk' I have is drawing a 'Shield Map' at the start of each NPC season to see how Northland could possibly win the trophy. Looking at my map, I didn't think it was all that likely this year.

But with Taranaki taking it off Canterbury's hands in what could probably be described as an upset win, the route became a little clearer.

Then when Otago lifted the Log just a week later, the chances of a challenge skyrocketed. Now we could potentially play Otago or Hawke's Bay for it, depending how this weekend's game unfolds.

I have been to only a few games where Northland were the challengers, they are rare. None of them bring fond memories.

They were long road trips and Northland didn't even come close on those days. So I can only imagine the sheer joy and excitement that I would feel if the Taniwha ever won the Ranfurly Shield.

Northland's biggest day. A huge crowd of 40,000 piled into Okara Park to watch Northland (then North Auckland) play Auckland on August 26, 1972 for the Ranfurly Shield. Auckland won 16-15.

There might even be tears (don't laugh, I saw grown men cry when the All Blacks won the World Cup in 2011!).

Couldn't winning the Log o' Wood be something that would give Northland a boost in this strange new Covid world?

Imagine the parade down Cameron St!

It would have to be on one of the sponsors trucks and the team might even be seen with some Lion Reds on board. The celebrations would be long for some I imagine.

Let's be real, 2020 couldn't get much weirder so maybe this might just be the Taniwha's year!!!

Northland take on Taranaki at Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei, today from 4.35pm.

The Northland Kauri women play their North Harbour counterparts in the early game, kicking off at 2.05pm.

■ Northland's last challenge for the Log-o-Wood was in 2015 at Hawke's Bay. Northland, then as North Auckland, last held the Shield in 1979.