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A try conversion made all the difference when the First XVs of Ōrewa and Mahurangi Colleges faced off in the Murray Jones Memorial Shield game at Mahurangi Rugby Club on Friday night, April 24.
Ōrewa claimed the shield after defeating the Mahurangi, 12-10.
Played in wet, slippery conditions, the game was either team’s to take, scoring try for try in the first and second halves.
However, it was Ōrewa’s conversion of Millan Couling’s try in the final quarter of the match that sealed the game.
Ōrewa co-coach Craig Ashton admitted it could have gone either way.
“We’ve worked hard to create a culture where the boys want to play hard for each other,” he said. “In the end it came down to the resilience to stick to our game.”
Mahurangi coach Derik Botha said Mahurangi knew it was always going to be a hard battle.
“There was nothing in it, but they used their opportunities so congratulations to Ōrewa,” he said.
Hundreds of spectators lined the sidelines, creating a great atmosphere on the night.
Try scorers for Mahurangi were winger Blake Tippet and lock Jack Quinn. Quinn and team mate Patrick Berger were mirroring a performance by their fathers, Pete Quinn and Daniel Berger, who played together in the 1995 and 1996 shield changes.
A shield with mana
The Murray Jones Memorial Shield for inter-college rugby was presented to Mahurangi College by the Jones family and was first contested in 1978.
It remembers prop Murray Jones who grew up in the area and represented Auckland and North Auckland at a provincial level, and played five matches for the All Blacks. Jones drowned in the Waitemata Harbour in 1975 while attempting to rescue his young son following a yachting accident. He was 32.
As well as Mahurangi and Ōrewa, colleges at Bream Bay, Otamatea, Ruawai and Rodney are all eligible to compete for the shield. However, in recent times, not all these schools have been able to field a First XV.
Mahurangi College was the current shield holder until last Friday. Altogether, they’ve won 21 times, Ōrewa 13, Rodney seven, Otamatea five and Bream Bay once. In 1990, it was a draw between Mahurangi and Bream Bay, and Ōrewa had the longest winning streak, taking eight games on the trot from 2012 to 2019.
The shield is a replica of the Ranfurly Shield and is made of totara burr. The sterling silver facets were drawn, manufactured and engraved by a silversmith of Walker and Hall.
