Northland stun Canterbury to take Ranfurly Shield
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
Northland have stunned Canterbury to lift the Ranfurly Shield for the first time since 1978 winning 36-12 in Christchurch.
Led by first five Rivez Reihana the Northland side played an old-school challenge, born out of physicality, desperation, and simply wanting it more.
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Northland cut Canterbury's latest Shield tenure to just 11 days, after they took it from Otago two Sundays ago, with a 36-12 victory under the roof in Christchurch on Thursday night.
Northland, then known as North Auckland, last won the Ranfurly Shield in 1978 and held it until the 1979 season. They hadn't beaten Canterbury since 1999.
Northland were first to score with hooker James Mullan barging past a couple of defenders with Reihana converting.
However Canterbury replied quickly setting up a try in the left corner for lock Tahlor Cahill. A missed conversion left them sitting on 5-7.
They then pulled ahead, with Jone Rova scoring and Andrew Knewstubb converting to go ahead 12-7.
The visitors took over the lead again through prop Marcel Renata barging over from close range with a conversion to take the lead 14-12.Halfback Sam Nock quickly followed that up with his side's second try in four minutes to take a 21-12 scoreline into the break.
Rob Rush in his 50th game for his province kept the momentum going in the opening minutes of the second half, powering through a strong Canterbury defence to pull even further ahead. Another Reihana conversion saw Northland increase their lead to 12-28.
Reihana kicked a penalty to take the score to 31-12 as Rob Rush continued to be a nuisance around the field and the defence in the backline stopped a number of Canterbury attacks.
Northland finished on a high in the dying moments of the match, with Rob Rush getting across the line in the 80th minute to put his side up 12-36 - officially claiming the Ranfurly Shield for the first time since 1978
Northland host Tasman next Sunday in Whangarei.
It was Canterubry's first loss in the NPC in 2026
Northland 36 (Rob Rush, 2 James Mullan, Marcel Renata, Sam Nock, Rob Rush, tries, Rivez Reihana 4 con, 1 pen) Canterbury 12 (Tahlor Cahill, Jone Rova tries, Andrew Knewstubb 1 con). HT: 21-12.
