Young recalls ‘special time’ after 2013
CHECK out your most liked photo from 2013 — more than likely it is you, a slightly unhinged smile and the Ranfurly Shield.
You can thank Phil Young for that.
The former Otago coach helped engineer a wonderful upset when Otago defeated Waikato 2619 to snatch the Log
O’Wood and bring to an end one of
New Zealand’s most storied lean runs.
It had been
56 years since
Otago had had the Ranfurly Shield in its possession and, boy, did the province embrace its return.
The Shield went on a whirlwind tour to every nook and cranny.
All sorts of people joined the queue to snap a selfie with it.
In just over a week it was gone. Hawke’s Bay came and conquered, winning 2019. Seven years later they are back, hoping to whisk the Shield away again.
Otago won it for the third time in seven years when it beat
Taranaki 3019 on Sunday. Its first defence is against Hawke’s Bay at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday.
Young thinks this team is much better placed to hold on to it this time around.
‘‘I thought they [the Otago side] were outstanding against Taranaki with the way they approached the game, so that was encouraging,’’ he said.
‘‘They will go into the game with confidence. The year we played them we were in our shell a wee bit. This group will have a better take on how to approach it.’’
In 2013 Otago was not ‘‘given a dog’s show’’ to beat Waikato, Young said.
‘‘It was quite evident when we were there that there was no hype and no talk about it.’’
There was not much of a crowd either. But the Otago contingent