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Waikato to put more than the Shield on the line
By RugbyPass
Waikato will have the Ranfurly Shield under lock and key as they try desperately to keep their names out of the history books.
Jono Gibbes' men put on a first-half show to steal the Shield away from Taranaki, but will put their prize back up for grabs in just four days time.
Waikato claimed the famous Shield for the 11th time in the union's history on Sunday, after holding off Taranaki 33-19 in New Plymouth and ending their five-match reign.
Five first-half tries saw the side take a 33-7 lead into the sheds, but they were unable to continue that attacking momentum and were held scoreless in the second spell.
A Taranaki comeback started to rear its head when the province scored two quick second-half tries through 2018 Crusaders Manasa Mataele and Seta Tamanivalu, but Waikato were able to hold out for the final thirty minutes and reclaim the 'Log o' Wood' for the first time since 2016. It was also their third consecutive time ending Taranaki's reign.
The victory was Waikato's second of the year after they beat Wellington 43-31 on Wednesday to snap a three-game season-opening losing streak. They will now host the Hawkes Bay Magpies at FMG Stadium Waikato on Thursday and try to avoid breaking the record for the shortest Shield tenure - currently held by the visiting Hawkes Bay.
In 2013 Hawkes Bay won the Shield from Otago and held it for just six days before losing to Counties Manukau. If Hawkes Bay can beat Waikato - the team that ended their eleven-game Shield stretch from 2014 to 2015 - they will also lose the dubious title of shortest tenure, and Waikato will be stuck with a record that will be close to unbreakable as they play their third match in eight days.
If Waikato are able to retain the Shield on Thursday, they will only have to defend it twice more in 2018 with upcoming home fixtures against Southland and Otago.
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Latest Comments
I didn't mean to sound down on Dmac. Just looking hard at the bench sub's role of providing impact. I don't think he can do that at 15, and the bench is not really about injury cover anymore (you need to maximise it's use more than that).
He's my first choice of any New Zealander for the 10 jersey with the All Blacks.
Go to commentsAgreed. And I don't have much more to say on it, but I had been having one thought that sprang to mind at the tail of this discussion, and that is that it's not all about Razor.
It's not about any coach being "right". I think a lot of selections can become defense and while it doesn't really apply here I really enjoyed that Andy Farrell just gave into the public demands and changed out his team for the change that had been asked for. Like why not? This is the countries team, keep them engaged. The whole reason i've only just finished watching the game was because I wasn't interested in watching any of the selected players against a team like Italy (still actually enjoyed the first half with the contest Italy made of it).
Faz leap frogs a younger half back into start. He hands the golden child the game over July's golden child. He gives an old winger a go, a new flanker and hooker. None of them really did any good, certainly not enough to suggest they should have been promoted above others, but who cares? You won, and you gave the country what they wanted, that's all that matters after all. It's for the country, not the one in charge who thinks they have to have their own pied piper tune playing.
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