Last stop battle star1/4/2023 Face masks or coverings are required on all public transport.Ģ.25pm: Farah Palmer Cup, Auckland Storm vs Manawatu.Ĥ.35pm: Gallaher Shield Final, Ponsonby v Manukau.ħ:05pm: The Battle of the Bridge, Auckland v North Harbour.I once tried a super aggressive fleet composed of one Jupiter MK-2, four minotaurs, and if I could squeeze in an adamant or two for the extra squadron and munition. Please retain your match ticket after match for journey home with public transport. # Auckland Transport has advised travel on buses and trains is included on all regular services with your match ticket from 12pm until end of service on Saturday. "But above all we want to have a good time because that has been the formula for us. "Our philosophy is to be creative and the players trust and believe in what we are doing. So some of us have waited a lifetime for this and it will be a very special occasion whatever happens. "I was 2-years-old last time Manukau won. In 1968, before the days of an actual grand final, on the last weekend of the season Manukau triumphed 20-16 over Ponsonby to claim their first title.Īnd when Manukau won their only other title in 1973, it was after their coach, Albie Prior, had initially sought to sign on with Ponsonby, according to Ponsonby club historian Paul Neazor.īut Athu reckons history can be overstated. Manukau have won the Gallaher Shield twice – in 19, and on both occasions there was a Ponsonby link. Skipper Savelio Ropati has been huge at flanker for Manukau, while No 8 Neta Matakaiongo is colloquially known as the "man with the biggest heart in club rugby". This they achieved with three weeks to spare. Ten months earlier Athu had sat down with new coach Doug Sanft, who had come from Ardmore Rovers along with a couple of players – and a few more from Eden - and set an objective of making the top four. "Quite often with our games it seems that the first half doesn't quite go to plan and we give the opposition a head start before we suddenly spring into life like good racehorse heading for the finishing post." We were also team with a lot of X factor and comfortable playing whoever. "'Heart' can be the hardest thing to coach, and we discovered we had a lot of it. Even in losing, we made a real connection. "We put up a huge fightback, and while we still lost by one point, it really sparked the imagination, not just of the team, but of our supporters. He expects any burden from Ponsonby's illustrious history will be carried easily by his players. Ponsonby coach Peter Leuluso'o, in his seventh season at the helm, has enjoyed Gallaher titles with The Ponies in 20 – but also the hurt of losing at the semifinal stage last year. Since the Gallaher Shield was introduced in 1922 Ponsonby have claimed it 35 times, while the club also holds the record of eight consecutive titles (from 2004-11).īut Manukau will bring the X factor for a turbo-charged occasion few of their supporters (and at least 11 bus-loads of them will be heading north) have experienced, given their last time they held the Shield, Norm Kirk was Prime Minister and we still had black-and-white TVs. Their most recent 2019 title success was their 50th (including four in pre-union days), while they have not lost a Gallaher Shield final since 1991. Ponsonby have history on their side in the showdown with Manukau. The Gallaher Shield final is part of a triple-header at Eden Park which starts with the Auckland Storm playing Manawatu in their Farah Palmer Cup fixture at 2.25pm and finishes with a highly anticipated "Battle of The Bridge" NPC fixture between Auckland and North Harbour (under a new format, where all 14 Provincial Unions compete for the one national provincial title). That's the backdrop to Auckland's premier club rugby final at Eden Park on Saturday, which is shaping as an occasion truly befitting the presentation of the Gallaher Shield for the 100th time.Ĭlub rugby aristocrats Ponsonby – who have won the Auckland championship more than any other club - will face a Manukau Rovers club which has not tasted glory since 1973 but is enjoying a rare year of revival in which it has cultivated a reputation for improbable comebacks. One club rugby team dripping with history – and another living the stuff of fairy tales. Ben Bacon of Ponsonby ahead of the Gallagher Shield semifinal against Grammar TEC at Western Springs Stadium.
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