this is the ranfurly shield. also known as the 'log-o-wood'. it has a long and illustrious history dating back to 1902, and is the holy grail of provincial rugby in new zealand.
it has changed hands 75 timesit's been held for as long as 8 years and for as little as 7 days
wellington wrested the shield from auckland last year, winning 27 nil, and our city held a parade in their honour.
it was a full circle moment for me (well, sorta).
back in 1982 (when i could wear black fishnets and heels squatting on the back of a truck), the canterbury rugby union held a parade BEFORE their first successful shield challenge against counties. this was in the days when no excuse was really needed to throw a parade.
still living in christchurch, DH ('the boyfriend' as he was the time) and i were part of a voluntary organisation called st. john (like boys and girls brigade, but with a first aid slant). hubs and friend dressed as counties players (by clevering adding a band of white tape around their red and black jerseys) and pretended to get 'beaten up' by the canterbury players (during the parade). see hubs' "black eye".
the 'injured players' (see leg in cast in background of VERY grainy old picture) would get tossed onto the hospital bed which was on the back of a truck, and 'slutty nurse sue' (that would be me), would 'tend' to them.
fun, fun; and look - there we are with the famous logo o' wood.
cut to 2008 and here it is again (except i'm photographing it, not holding it).
this is leo the lion - the team's mascot. it was a VERY windy day
wellington and canterbury have played each other for the shield at least seven times
and we haven't won many of them ('we' being wellington!)
back in 2003 they even had a 38-all draw
which brings us back to today - town is abuzz with 'shield fever'
we won't be at the game, because we're heading out of town for the night
if i'd known about the game, i think we would have stayed in town and gone, coz it's gonna be a good one!
i even have a bottle of chardonnary riding on it with a friend
GO WELLINGTON!!!
and we haven't won many of them ('we' being wellington!)
back in 2003 they even had a 38-all draw
which brings us back to today - town is abuzz with 'shield fever'
we won't be at the game, because we're heading out of town for the night
if i'd known about the game, i think we would have stayed in town and gone, coz it's gonna be a good one!
i even have a bottle of chardonnary riding on it with a friend
GO WELLINGTON!!!
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek
13 comments:
wow...sounds like some brutal rivalry there! Go Wellington!
Oooo, I love a good rivalry tradition! Very cool!
It wasn't until the other pictures that I could see how HUGE that really is! I love the history here.
hey cool photo, love the story behind it all.....um I support Welly in rugby when they play Auckland, otherwise its ole ole ole ole and Waiiiiiiii - katoooooooo lol. I can't help it.
We're pulling for Wellington too! I'm just taking your word for it that they deserve to win!
We have a pretty famous high school rugby team here in Utah -- Highland Rugby. Their record -- over thirty years -- is, and I'm not kidding here, something like 368 - 9. They made a movie about Highland last year called "Forever Strong."
Go Wellington!
loved that little wellington history lesson!
That's pretty cool! Good luck on your wager!
That's pretty cool! Good luck on your wager!
I'll just get on board and say . . . go Wellington!
Here’s my photo story. happy Friday!
best rivals calls for good games and fun times! Love the old shot of ya! :)
Cool!
BTW, There will be an award for you on my blog Saturday morning... (I know this because I can see into the future)
Love that old photo of you. I can tell now how much your girls look like you!
Great history lesson too. :)
Lovely photos,lovely girls.!I love your history here.
Go Wellington!
P.S
Hope you get a chance to check out my last blog spot written in the memory of my best friend.
Thank you
Have a nice afternoon,
Betty
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