Ranfurly Shield

In 1901 the Governor of New Zealand, The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, announced that he would present a cup to the New Zealand Rugby Football Union to be used as the prize in a competition of their choosing. When the trophy, a shield, arrived, the NZRFU decided that it would be awarded to the union with the best record in the 1902 season, and thenceforth be the subject of a challenge system. Auckland, unbeaten in 1902, was presented with the shield. The shield was designed as a trophy for association football, not rugby.[1] The picture in the centrepiece was a soccer one, and was modified by adding goal posts on the soccer goal in the picture to create a rugby scene. The alterations to the centrepiece are still apparent.[2]

Auckland were on tour in 1903 and did not play any home games, and thus did not have to defend the Shield. Their first defence was against Wellington in 1904, and was unsuccessful.

Since the introduction of the National Provincial Championship in 1976, all home games a Shield-holder plays in the NPC or its successors, the ITM Cup and Heartland Championship, are automatically challenge matches.

Ranfurly Shield Visit to Shannon 1927

Auckland holds the record for the greatest number of consecutive Shield defences, 61 matches between 14 September 1985 and 18 September 1993. During this period Auckland took the Shield on tour to provincial unions that, mainly for financial reasons, would be unlikely to be able to mount a challenge for the trophy. While dismissed by some critics, usually because of the one-sided scores, it was mostly regarded as a success by those involved.

In 1994 when Canterbury wrested the Shield from Waikato, it was in battered condition, with large cracks, chips and peeled varnish. Nearly a century of use had taken its toll. Canterbury player Chris England, skilled in woodwork, fully renovated it, bringing it back into pristine condition.

The Shield holder at the end of each season is required to accept at least seven challenges for the following year. All home games during league play, but not during knockout playoffs, in the Mitre 10 Cup or Heartland Championship are automatic challenges. The remaining shield defences must be made up of challenges from unions in the other domestic competition. For example, since North Harbour, an Air New Zealand Cup (now Mitre 10 Cup) team, held the Shield at the end of the 2006 Cup season despite losing their home quarter-final to Otago, they were forced to defend the Shield against Heartland Championship teams during the 2007 pre-season. Having successfully done so, all their home fixtures in the round-robin phase were Shield defences until they lost the shield to Waikato.

The Shield-holder is never forced to defend the Shield in an away match, although they may choose to, as Auckland, for example, did on a number of occasions during their record tenure between 1985 and 1993. In 2008, Auckland played both their mandatory defences against Heartland teams on the road.[3]

If a challenger successfully takes the Shield, all of their home matches for the rest of the season are defences of it.

Just under half of the unions that can contest for the Ranfurly Shield do not have an alias. South Canterbury's emblem is their own Coat of Arms. But a soldier represents their green and black colour and current mascot, Tim and Ru. The mascots were originally used during wartime and were created by Ronald Murray.[5] Many of the unions below have this situation, like Poverty Bay's Weka, it resembles their mascot after the 2011 squads post-match photo after the Lochore Cup final.[6]

• Wairarapa's 1927-era saw them lose to Hawke's Bay 21–10 at Solway Showgrounds Oval, but was subsequently awarded the shield back on a residential breach.

Ranfurly Shield Holders
Union	Won	Successful Defences
Southland	5 September 1959	0
Auckland	23 September 1959	2
Northland	20 August 1960	1
Auckland	31 August 1960	25
Wellington	31 August 1963	0
Taranaki	7 September 1963	15
Auckland	11 September 1965	3
Waikato	27 August 1966	0
Hawke's Bay	24 September 1966	21
Canterbury	27 September 1969	9
Auckland	28 August 1971	1
Northland	18 September 1971	6
Auckland	26 August 1972	0
Canterbury	5 September 1972	2
Marlborough	28 July 1973	6
South Canterbury	17 August 1974	1
Wellington	3 September 1974	1
Auckland	21 September 1974	10
Manawatu	21 August 1976	13
Northland	12 September 1978	5
Auckland	21 September 1979	6
Waikato	7 September 1980	8
Wellington	1 August 1981	4
Canterbury	18 September 1982	25
Auckland	14 September 1985	61
Waikato	18 September 1993	5
Canterbury	3 September 1994	9
Auckland	23 September 1995	3
Taranaki	24 August 1996	1
Waikato	8 September 1996	1
Auckland	4 October 1996	6
Waikato	5 October 1997	21
Canterbury	23 September 2000	23
Auckland	11 October 2003	2
Bay of Plenty	15 August 2004	1
Canterbury	5 September 2004	14
North Harbour	24 September 2006	3
Waikato	24 August 2007	0
Canterbury	1 September 2007	1
Auckland	29 September 2007	5
Wellington	20 September 2008	4
Canterbury	29 August 2009	4
Southland	22 October 2009	6
Canterbury	9 October 2010	2
Southland	23 July 2011	2
Taranaki	24 August 2011	7
Waikato	3 October 2012	4
Otago	23 August 2013	0
Hawke's Bay	1 September 2013	0
Counties Manukau	7 September 2013	6
Hawke's Bay	30 August 2014	11
Waikato	9 October 2015	6
Canterbury	28 September 2016	6
Taranaki	6 October 2017	5
Waikato	9 September 2018	2
Otago*	13 October 2018	6

Overall records

Team	Wins	Successful Defences	Average Defences
Auckland	16	148	9.25
Canterbury	16	139	9.27
Waikato	13	60	4.62
Wellington	10	40	4
Southland	7	22	3.14
Taranaki	6	48	8
Otago	6	6.17
Hawke's Bay	5	56	11.2
Northland	4	14	3.5
Wairarapa	3	10	3.33
South Canterbury	2	1	0.5
Manawatu	1	13	13
Counties Manukau	1	6	6
Marlborough	1	6	6
North Harbour	1	3	3
Manawhenua	1	2	2
Bay of Plenty	1	1	1

Last updated: after Otago's fifth defense of 2019, against Taranaki on 8 September.

• Ranfurly Shield 2010–2019

• Rampant Aucks take the 2007 shield
• Ranfurly Shield at nzrugby.com (history, stories, audio highlights, trivia)