Lindsay Knight: Auckland dulls shield's gloss

COMMENT

If ever the faith of the true rugby traditionalist was tested last weekend it was in Auckland's win over Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield.

Once a victory by Auckland over its most intense provincial rival for the most precious prize in New Zealand rugby would have produced even in the country's most cosmopolitan city uninhibited glee, perhaps even a street parade, and thousands turning up at the airport to welcome home the triumphant side.

But Auckland's win came when the attention of the media and public was sidetracked across the ditch to the opening rounds of the World Cup. Inevitably, celebrations were muted, though that is but one cause for any reservation about the shield returning to Auckland.

Even the most rabid Aucklander would agree that in the Queen City the shield loses some of its lustre. The last time Auckland held it, in 1997, even coach Graham Henry was far from despondent when a challenge from Waikato succeeded late in the season.

The shield, he said at the time, was better off in other parts of New Zealand because it was better appreciated elsewhere than by an apathetic Auckland public.

The same fear for the shield's future arises again with Auckland's latest win, for there is every sign that a team is developing in this part of the country which could be as hard to beat as was the great side of 1985-1993.

For the most obvious asset of the new crop of Auckland players is their youth as well as potential brilliance. Ben Atiga, Sam Tuitupou, Angus Macdonald and Bradley Mika - not forgetting the absent World Cup players Joe Rokocoko, Mils Muliaina, Doug Howlett, Daniel Braid, Keven Mealamu and Ali Williams - are all in the early stages of their careers.

They could well ensure another lengthy Auckland shield era ... until perhaps 2007 when once again, presumably, the domestic season will again be relegated in importance by another World Cup preparation.

Will a second Auckland domination of the shield be good for the long-term interests of New Zealand rugby?

Probably not, because the onslaught of professionalism has already meant disturbing gaps growing even further between the few at the top and the rest.

In the Auckland region the most striking illustration of this is the once vibrant Counties Manukau union, finalists in the NPC first division as recently as 1997.

The Auckland shield era of 1985-1993, in which 61 defences were repelled, deserves to be celebrated for its excellence and the deeds of champion players such as John Kirwan, Terry Wright, Grant Fox, Michael Jones, Zinzan Brooke and Sean Fitzpatrick.

But instead, what happened in those eight seasons can be seen as the first drastic weakening of the shield as a major staple of New Zealand rugby.

So distorted have judgments become because of it, worthy shield reigns such as Waikato 1997-2000 (21 defences) and Canterbury 2000-2003 (23 defences) are in danger of missing their historical significance.

Neither of those tenures appears to have gained a niche in the game's folklore. Yet each was as long, or even longer, than some of those tenures which have become legendary: Hawkes Bay in the 1920s and 1960s, Otago in the 1940s, Waikato in the early 1950s and Canterbury in the mid-1950s.

There is another sobering statistic to the shield. Since 1982, only three unions, apart from a brief run by Taranaki in 1996, have held it: Auckland, Canterbury and Waikato.

The task of smaller unions repeating Marlborough's feat of 1973 has become so hopeless that now any challenges from second and third division unions are made increasingly on their home grounds, becoming no more than token exhibition matches.

But there are glimmers of hope for the shield's future. It has been written off plenty of times in its more than 100 years and often been demeaned by petty bickering and parochialism, only to reassert itself as something rare and mystical.

Perhaps the continuing absences of All Blacks, despite being a distraction, will be a benefit in later years. That was the case in 1996 when Taranaki's win over Auckland, and Bay of Plenty's near-win a fortnight earlier, would not have occurred but for the fact most of Auckland's best players were then touring South Africa.

There was some reassurance, too, in the enjoyment Auckland coach Wayne Pivac took in last weekend's win. For Pivac, the shield victory was the highlight of his career, topping, he said, even the win in last year's NPC final.

Pivac and his fellow coach, Fox, of course, are in their early 40s, and thus of a generation which still vividly remembers the magic which used to be shield rugby.

One can only hope then that Pivac's jubilation reflected the emotions felt by all of his players.

Shield facts

* Since 1982, only three unions (apart from a brief run by Taranaki in 1996) have held the shield: Auckland, Canterbury and Waikato.

* The Auckland shield era of 1985-1993 was the first drastic weakening of the trophy as a major staple of New Zealand rugby.