Hawkes Bay hold Shield

A 33–32 victory over Counties Manukau at McLean Park in Napier last night means the Ranfurly Shield is safely locked away for another couple of weeks. Counties staged an almighty second-half comeback after being down 28-6 at the break but ran out of time at the finish. Hawke’s Bay’s current Ranfurly Shield reign began in October 2020 when they lifted the "Log o’ Wood’’ from Otago in Dunedin, and now boasts 12 successful defences since – including regulation wins over South Canterbury and Poverty Bay during pre-season.