Simplified Rules:
- The Ranfurly Shield (RS) is a challenge shield open to all unions affiliated
to the NZRFU.
- The holders are not required to play any challenge match before the first
day of July and after the first Sunday in October in any year. However the
holders may, at their sole discretion, play a match before the first day of
July.
- Any unions desiring to play a challenge match with the holders must give
written notice to the holders and NZRFU not later than Oct 15 in the
preceding year.
- The RS holders are required to accept no fewer than 7 challengers. The 4
home games in the NPC are deemed automatic challenges. The remaining three
challenges must be from unions who are in the other two Divisions.
- In the event of the RS holder being defeated all matches at the ground of
the new holder up to and including the first Sunday in Oct shall be
challenges for the RS.
- Any union which did not previously have a match arranged with the new
holders may within 6 days of the new holders winning the RS, notify the new
holders and NZRFU of its challenge for the shield. The new holders do not
have to accept additional challenges.
Only two teams (Hawkes Bay in
the 1920s and Auckland in the 1990s) have ever taken the shield with them for
away game challenges.
The following statistics and facts are current up to the end of the 1994
season.
Current holders:
Canterbury
RANFURLY SHIELD SUMMARY:
Played Won Lost Drawn as Drawn as
holder challenger
Auckland 173 138 29 5 1
Bay of Plenty 14 - 14 - -
Buller 11 - 10 - 1
Bush* 7 - 7 - -
Canterbury 122 85 31 5 1
Counties 17 - 15 - 2
East Coast 4 - 4 - -
Golden Bay-
Motueka* 1 - 1 - -
Hawke's Bay 74 49 22 2 1
Horowhenua 7 - 7 - -
King Country 17 - 17 - -
Manawatu 32 14 17 - 1
Manawhenua* 6 3 3 - -
Marlborough 17 7 10 - -
Mid Canty 10 - 10 - -
Nelson* 2 - 2 - -
Nelson Bays 3 - 3 - -
Northland 39 17 21 1 -
Nth Harbour 4 - 4 - -
Nth Otago 8 - 8 - -
Otago 70 35 32 1 2
Poverty Bay 12 - 12 - -
Sth Canty 23 3 20 - -
Southland 49 20 27 - 2
Taranaki 73 34 34 3 2
Thames Valley 11 - 11 - -
Waikato 54 28 23 2 1
Wairarapa* 30 12 17 - 1
Wairarapa-Bush 5 - 5 - -
Wanganui 24 - 23 - 1
Wellington 85 44 36 1 4
West Coast 13 - 13 - -
*Note:
Nelson and Golden Bay-Motueka amalgamated to form the Nelson Bays union.
Wairarapa and Bush amalgamated to form the Wairarapa-Bush union.
Manawatu amalgamated with Horowhenua (1925-32) and were known as Manawhenua.
RANFURLY SHIELD STATISTICS:
Longest Tenure:
Auckland 1985-1993 61 challenges resisted
Auckland 1960-1963 25
Canterbury 1982-1985 25
Hawkes Bay 1922-1927 24
Shortest Tenure:
Wellington 1963 7 days
Auckland 1972 10
Nth Auckland 1960 11
Wairarapa 1950 14
Sth Canterbury 1950 14
Auckland 1952 14
North Auckland resisted one challenger, the other unions were beaten by the
first challenger.
Unions which have never held the RS:
Bay of Plenty
Buller
Counties
East Coast
Horowhenua
King Country
Mid Canterbury
Nelson Bays
North Harbour
North Otago
Poverty Bay
Thames Valley
Wairarapa Bush (Wairarapa has held the RS but the combined
union, formed in 1971, has not)
Wanganui
West Coast
Highest Winning Margin:
(By holder)
134 Auckland v Nth Otago (139-5) in 1993
97 Auckland v Thames Valley (97-0) in 1986
88 Canterbury v Nth Otago (88-0) in 1983
(By challenger)
21 Canterbury v Wellington (24-3) in 1953
Biggest Attendances:
52,000 Canterbury v Auckland at Christchurch 1985
50,000 Auckland v Counties at Auckland 1979
48,000 Auckland v Waikato at Auckland 1961
45,000 Auckland v Waikato at Auckland 1993
Individual Performances:
Most Matches: 57 Grant Fox (Auckland)
Most Points: 923 Grant Fox (Auckland)
Most Tries: 53 Terry Wright (Auckland)
Most Points in a match: 40 John Kirwan (Auckland) v Nth Otago 1993
Most Tries in a match: 8 John Kirwan (Auckland) v Nth Otago 1993
Paul Kendall
pek1@waikato.ac.nz