The Hawke's Bay Magpies will open their 2022 defence of the Ranfurly Shield against national amateur rugby Heartland champion South Canterbury in Napier on June 29.
A Wednesday match, it will be the first of two challenges scheduled for non-championship sides, with northern neighbour Poverty Bay pencilled-in for the second on July 30, a Saturday.
South Canterbury has won the shield twice, losing a first defence in 1950 and a second in 1974, and will be having its first challenge since being beaten 80-15 by big brother Canterbury in a rare challenger home match in Timaru in 2006, and Poverty Bay has never won the shield and hasn't challenged since being beaten 78-0 by Taranaki in 2018.
A programme of defences during the Bunnings Warehouse NPC later in the season is yet to be confirmed
New Magpies head coach and former assistant Josh Syms said the June and July matches have been scheduled where possible to minimise the disruption to club rugby but also working with the challenging unions "highly motivated" to be play for and the "Log o' Wood'' and to try to be the first holders from the lower divisions in the professional era.
As Heartland Rugby Meads Cup winners, South Canterbury was automatically allocated a challenge and Syms said: "They will be a tough assignment while we are excited about giving our neighbours a crack in what will be a great Battle of the Bays."
As was the case last year, the Magpies that defend the shield for the two games will be a mixture of locally club players and returning Super Rugby Pacific players, with form over the coming few months dictating selection, including that in Premier club rugby due to start on March 26.
South Canterbury CEO Craig Calder: "It has been over 16 years since we last challenged and there is huge interest from our rugby community to journey to Hawke's Bay to witness the challenge and we will be well prepared and up for it and certainly something the entire province is really looking forward to''
CPS Poverty Bay head coach Miah Nikora said: "It's not every day do you get the opportunity to challenge for it, especially coming from a Heartland Union. We are grateful to Hawke's Bay for accepting our challenge and we are excited at what the challenge presents."
The NPC draw, including other Ranfurly Shield challenges, is expected late this month, with the first round currently scheduled for August 5.
Hawke's Bay started its current reign winning the shield off Otago in Dunedin in October 2020 and has since had nine successful defences, the only margin less than 16 points being a 36-33 extra time win over Bay of Plenty last September.
