Bay at lengthy odds to pull off shield shock

By CHRIS RATTUE

This is the stuff from which Ranfurly Shield dreams are made - a $7 underdog out to topple the holder and put old-style magic back into the shield equation.

Canterbury face Bay of Plenty tomorrow in their 20th defence of the Ranfurly Shield since they beat Waikato in 2000.

Bay of Plenty will run on to Jade Stadium knowing victory would net them a whopping $10,000 each from the team sponsor, although a cynic might suggest it is not necessarily a great act of faith.

The chances, as the oddsmakers have made blatantly obvious, are small.

Bay of Plenty gave their fans hope by overturning North Harbour in Mt Maunganui last week, but Canterbury at home are an entirely different story.

Whereas North Harbour have never really shed their flashy coat to reveal anything more substantial inside, Canterbury are made of much sterner stuff.

Backed by all the advantages of a Super 12 franchise base, they remain NPC heavyweights, even when almost an entire team is with the All Blacks.

Two years ago, Bay of Plenty challenged Canterbury after upsetting Wellington in the NPC and almost doing the same to Auckland.

Canterbury, who fielded many of their stars that night, thumped the hapless invaders 72-3, sending the Steamers into a horrible five-game slide.

Canterbury are a weaker side this time, but they will still field seven or eight test players, depending on whether Andrew Mehrtens overcomes a calf muscle problem.

They include the Japan-bound Mark Robinson, who is returning to the side after back surgery in March.

It almost goes without saying, in this modern rugby age, that Bay of Plenty have no All Blacks, present or past.

They can scrape up a couple of Super 12ers, but only Glen Jackson has ever been a Chiefs' headline act.

"The feeling in the camp is we've got a runner's chance," says captain Clayton McMillan, one of seven survivors from the drubbing two years ago.

"Canterbury weren't over-inspiring against Northland, although they got up and won ... Our team have definitely made big strides from last year and there is a lot of euphoria around Bay of Plenty about our prospects this year.

"We've won all our games against Italy, Waikato and North Harbour, and it's certainly done wonders for building our team culture and confidence.

"But Canterbury aren't going to lie down and say, 'Here take the shield' - never in your wildest dreams."

So does the shield still hold its magic for Canterbury?

Stalwart loose forward Scott Robertson, who was born and bred in Mt Maunganui, says it does.

"We wouldn't have had it so long if it didn't mean so much to us," he says.

Robertson, whose season has been affected by a knee injury and operation, still hopes for a World Cup call-up.

After this season he heads to Perpignan in France, where he plans to further his knowledge for an intended coaching career.

The last thing he or any of the other old campaigners remaining in the Canterbury side will want on their CVs will be "Ranfurly Shield losers."

Illness has forced Steve Walsh to be replaced by Kelvin Deaker as referee.

Canterbury: Ben Blair, Alisi Tupuailei, Casey Laulala, Mark Robinson, Caleb Ralph, Andrew Mehrtens/Cameron McIntyre, Ben Hurst (capt), Sam Broomhall, Johnny Leo'o, Scott Robertson, Norm Maxwell, Matt Dalzell, Campbell Johnstone, Tone Kopelani, Greg Feek. Res: Jed Vercoe, Chris King, Daniel Turner, Andrew Morgan, Jamie Nutbrown, McIntyre/Charlie Hore, Scott Hamilton.

Bay of Plenty: Damon Kaui, Anthony Tahana, Alan Bunting, Grant McQuoid, Charles Baxter, Glen Jackson, Kevin Senio; Clayton McMillan (capt), Nili Latu, Wayne Ormond, Bernie Upton, Mark Sorenson, Ben Castle, Aleki Lutui, Simms Davison. Res: Guy Shepherdson, Taufa'ao Filise, Paul Tupai, Rodney Voullaire, Nathaniel Walker, Nathan Strongman, Apoua Stewart.

Referee: Kelvin Deaker

Kickoff: 2.35pm