Bay pride tinged with sadness

By CHRIS RATTUE

There are plenty of stories about the life and times of the Ranfurly Shield.

Some see the light of day, others have to remain in the undergrowth.

One that can be retold in the family hour is that it visited Bay of Plenty coach Vern Cotter's house, sitting on a chair during a meal where it was toasted by family and friends who clinked a fair few glasses on the famous trophy.

Cotter and his team said cheers again to the shield yesterday, but this time it was to say farewell as Sam Broomhall's Canterbury prepared to take the log back to Christchurch after a 33-26 victory at Mt Maunganui.

The red and blacks, laden with internationals, got the final bounce of the ball in a thriller to deny Bay of Plenty goalkicker Glen Jackson the chance to draw the match and keep the shield.

Ben Blair beat Grant McQuoid in a sprint for the ball behind the Canterbury goal-line after the holders launched a final desperate attack. Adrian Cashmore, who put the kick through, had also considered passing to McQuoid or continuing to run himself.

"I'm sure people will still talk about that in five or 10 years' time," Cotter said, finding instant shield lore in Cashmore's decision.

In truth, it was a close call which the replays probably won't answer. But what the video will show is that unfancied Bay of Plenty put up a performance every bit as momentous as their shield victories.

"It was discussed before the game - if you're going to go down you'll do it with a good fight," said a proud Cotter.

"It was magnificent having the shield but it was also a bit of a distraction.

"We got to win it, defend it, and we were never going to keep it forever. A team of internationals wrestled it away.

"You get torn between losing it ... I was very pleased with how the players performed. The shield's gone and that's part of history."

So Broomhall lifted the shield ending the heart-warming run by the Bay, who toppled Auckland then held off hot favourites Waikato.

Canterbury's legendary first five-eighths Andrew Mehrtens spoke for many when he said: "While I was determined to win I guess I did feel a bit of regret that the shield is moving on. It would have been nice if it could stay in the Bay a bit longer.

"I said that wasn't the case during the week but you can't have anything else on your mind when you are preparing for the game.

"I love the history of the game and while I love it being in Canterbury, I don't want to see it in only two or three provinces continuously.

"I remember thinking on the way to the ground what a fantastic thing they've done with it up here. All the colour, the people in blue and gold jerseys coming to the game. Fantastic."

A nice touch from Mehrtens, who showed plenty of the same on the field.

He confessed to being 60 metres from Blair and McQuoid's race for the ball in the dying seconds.

"It started happening in slow motion. I went through three or four different thoughts," he said.

Which sounded a bit like Cotter and his troops - who were proud, sad, and maybe even a touch relieved they could get on with their primary aim of making the NPC semifinals for the first time.

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