Taranaki confirm second Ranfurly Shield challenge

Ranfurly Shield holders Taranaki will, if they negotiate the challenge of King Country first, play Heartland Championship winners Wanganui on August 4, 2012, at Yarrow Stadium.

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It will be Taranaki’s third defence, after beating Southland to take the Log o’Wood and repelling Hawke’s Bay 29-11 to ensure one of the country’s greatest rugby prizes remained in New Plymouth for the summer.

New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) rules state that the winner of the Mead’s Cup gains an automatic challenge.

Wanganui have never held the Ranfurly Shield, and lost their most recent challenge 62-6 to Southland in 2010, while the closest they have ever come to gaining the Log o’Wood was in 1964, when they drew 15-15 – against Taranaki of all teams.

Jason Caskey, coach of the Mead’s Cup champions, said to the Wanganui Chronicle that it was important to ensure all the pieces fell into place despite the differences with the two’s teams preparations leading into the challenge.

"You want to give yourself a chance at being as competitive as possible - we don't want to be embarrassed," he said.

"It's perfect timing for Taranaki leading into the ITM Cup but I was hoping to get an extra weekend after our club rugby finishes to work with the boys.

"I was wanting to have a camp and a couple of games to work on some combinations - you have to be organised or you are going to get a thrashing."

"It's a big challenge but one that is well deserved for the players after the way they played last season.”

However the fact that Taranaki will have a host of players unavailable due to Investec Super Rugby commitments will even out the playing field.

Meanwhile, the Taranaki rugby team was the supreme winner at the Taranaki sportsperson of the year awards in New Plymouth last night.

Not only did they win the Shield, but won seven of their ten ITM Cup matches, while no less than fourteen players from the side gained Super Rugby contracts for 2012.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate all the nominees. Congratulations to all the sports, the coaches and particularly the parents," Tenderlink Taranaki coach Colin Cooper said.

"It's quite special, it was all about the team, our whole union, the administrators. This is great reward for our union, our players. I'm very proud to be back home amongst friends and family. Thank you very much for this award."