Neighbourhood heroes
Provincial rugby grounds us in ways that high-dollar franchise stuff never could
Amate sentmea series of excited texts late on Saturday afternoon. Itwasmyweekto do the bets for our syndicate and I’d taken Taranaki by 1-12 in their Ranfurly Shield clash with Canterbury. Just so it doesn’t look like I’m bragging, I took a punt on five games lastweekend but Taranaki were the only team to get up.
Anyway, the result of the Shield gameformed only part ofmyfriend’s excitement.
The small townwelive in is part of aheartland union. Wedon’t produce a lot of talent, but take a lot of pride in the ladswhodomake theirwayonto a bigger stage.
Turns out the parents of Canterbury outside backandrew Knewstubb live on thesamestreet asmyfriend, while Taranaki reserve halfback Warwick Lahmertwas on old club team-mate.
I takemycar to the garage Lahmert’s brother works at and I still get nervous every time Dane Coles’ mumservesmeat the pharmacy.
Nothing bringsnewzealanders together en masse quite like the All Blacks.
The Olympics and Commonwealthgamescan be unifying forces too, along with the America’s Cup, but no sports team has quite thesamehold over us as the famousmenin black.
Super Rugby Aotearoa was surprisingly popular this year. Circumstances played a part in that, givenhowstarvedwewere of live sport, but the chance to watch our best and brightest talents go headto-head wasone that huge numbers of people took up.
The All Blacks have been and (largely) gone from the Mitre 10 Cup, but that doesn’t diminish the connection betweennew Zealanders and that competition.
Whether that’s through someone’smum— who works in your local pharmacy— or a player whoyou went to school with or a coach who’s amate of your dad’s, the Mitre 10Cupis thewayin which webest relate to professional rugby players.
Another mate of mine retweeted a photo of the Francis Douglas Memorial College contingent— including Beauden, Scott and Jordie Barrett— who’d been part of Saturday’s 23-22 win over Canterbury. Helives in Sydney these days but, wherever he is in the world, the pride at being a Francis Douglas old boy remains.
These are the ties that bind us to provincial rugby no matterwhowe are.
It’s nice that Beauden and Jordie Barrett followed father Kevin in becoming Hurricanes, but that doesn’t compare to winning the Ranfurly Shield in Taranaki colours.
Kevin Barrett was ahurricane and that’s nomeanfeat, but he’s a Taranaki legendmadefamous— in large part— by being amember of the 1996 side that snatched the
Shield off Auckland.
Beauden Barrett referenced that match on Saturday night andhow he’d dreamed of playing for Taranaki and winning the Ranfurly Shield himself one day.
Just like hooker Bradley Slater whotalked of having thesame childhood dream, whenthe
Taranaki team got back tonew Plymouth on Sunday. Son of Taranaki greatandyslater, Bradley had grownup on thosesametales of Eden Park ‘96.
The Mitre 10 Cuphas lostsome stature in recent years, but it still retains its context.
Ideally, a player like Beauden Barrett wouldn’t go five years between provincial appearances, but what matters is that it really meant somethingwhenhe returned. It remains to be seen if he’ll get to defend the Shield, or even play for Taranaki again, but it doesn’t diminish his status as ataranaki manor that of his family.
Scott Barrett has never played for Taranaki, while Jordie has only this season’s two appearances under his belt, but they’re still immediately synonymous with the union, still favourite sons in every sense, still connected to that province and the proud playing records ofmensuch as their father.
All through Taranaki rightnow youknowthere are people chuffed to haveknownor played against or even just met someone in the Barrett family. Sameas there will be those whoknowbradley andandyslater, Teihorangi Walden or Ricky
Riccitelli and will be walking taller or telling tales or buying tickets to see the team defend the Shield against Otago on Sunday.
Mitre 10Cup rugby doesn’tmake the big bucks or attract the best audiences. It might not feature our finest players that often, but it always brings people and communities together and makes themfeel as if they havesome ownership of their local team.
Or, if you’re in a smaller union like me, a sense of pride that players are out there trying to put your town on the map.
There are thosewhowould do awaywith this kind of grassroots rugby, who’d stage test and franchise footy only and forgo the burden of funding the community game.
Provincial rugby isn’t cheap and the returns aren’t great, but it remains our best connection between the past and the present and the professional and the promising.
It isn’t perfect. Not as it stands, anyway, with the inclusion of All Blacks anovelty, rather than an expectation.
But it remains hugely relevant to a greatmanynewzealanders and Taranaki’s recent triumph has been a timely reminder of that.
This article was first published on Rugbypass.com and is reprinted
with permission.