Shannon: First of all, thanks for sitting down with me, Ran. Can I call you Ran?

Shield: No.

All the same, an honour. This must be a tough time for you, 120 years old, with the repairs and all.

Wow, you’re sharp. Is it that obvious I’m held together by duct tape? Yeah, bit busier than usual, Bernstein, with the repairs and all. *turns to publicist* Who is this guy?

Ah apologies, Mr Shield. I mean, you’re supposed to be off work? Locked away for this summer, as they say?

You’ve really done your research, kid. That’s not just an expression by the way – they really do lock the damn cabinet. The smell in there after nine months…

Moving on. I presume you saw New Zealand Rugby released a review about what happened after Hawke’s Bay beat Wellington last month to win, uh, you?

I saw it. Got a question in there?

Well, the 10-day investigation, having spoken to multiple witnesses, concluded you had been accidentally dropped on a concrete floor.

Still waiting for that question.

It’s just that James Dwan, the man behind your restorations in recent years, had said you were three to four times, ahem, thicker than the original, and it would take “one hell of a drop to break”. So, were you in fact dropped?