The 2017 Wanganui Premier rugby club season will likely remain unaltered despite the scheduling of the Ranfurly Shield challenge smack in the middle of the competition next year.
The Canterbury union confirmed two pre-season Shield defences this week with Wanganui, as the mandatory challenger by virtue of winning the Meads Cup, travelling to Christchurch's AMI Stadium for the game on Wednesday, June 21.
Canterbury's other defence, before the home games of the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup, will be an away clash with Heartland neighbours Mid Canterbury in Ashburton on August 4.
A midweek game in the middle of a longer club campaign will be a bit difficult for Wanganui, said WRFU club development officer Paul Kenny.
Kenny has already sent out a preliminary draw for the 2017 season for clubs to inspect before making any amendments.
The first round of Premier club games, expanding from eight teams to nine with the inclusion of Senior champions Ngamatapouri, are scheduled to end on Queens Birthday weekend - June 3-5 - which will also double as the centenary celebration for the Marist Rugby Club.
The Shield game for the representative side will be midweek before the second weekend of club games in Round 2.
It will be a much different prospect to this year when Shield holders Waikato accepted challenges from three Heartland teams - Thames Valley, King Country and Meads Cup holders Wanganui - with the games played in the late July-early August window between the end of the club season and start of the NPC.
Wanganui coach Jason Caskey was therefore able to prepare one overall squad for both campaigns, which showed in Wanganui's commendable challenge in a muddy Cambridge, losing 32-12 on August 6.
Canterbury lifted the Shield off Waikato with a 29-23 win on September 28, then defended it in their last home game of the regular season against North Harbour, 47-18 on October 7.
Interestingly, Kenny said the WRFU has received overtures from North Harbour about playing them in a preseason match before Wanganui's Shield challenge - a rare prospect of meeting two Mitre 10 Cup teams in one season.
Where and when the game could be played is still up in the air, Kenny said.
Canterbury had received seven non-mandatory challenges from Southland, West Coast, Poverty Bay, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury and Wanganui.
With Wanganui confirmed via the Meads Cup victory, Canterbury's acceptance of the Mid Canterbury challenge has greatly disappointed the South Canterbury union, who have not received a Shield game for over ten years.
SRU chief executive Craig Calder pointed out Mid Canterbury got mandatory 2014-15 Shield games by winning the Meads Cup, but in recent years have consistently lost to their Timaru-based neighbours, who made this year's Meads Cup semifinals whereas the Ashburton union were eliminated in the Lochore Cup group.