The

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...

, colloquially known as the ''Log o' Wood'', is perhaps the most prestigious trophy in New Zealand's domestic

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

competition. First played for in 1904, the Ranfurly Shield is based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies. The holding union must defend the Shield in challenge matches, and if a challenger defeats them, they become the new holder of the Shield.

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

opened the decade with the Ranfurly Shield defending it successfully 21 times prior to losing it. The shield changed hands 11 times throughout the decade, notably winning the shield four separate times, but ultimately losing it to , , Auckland again, and finally , who held the shield at the close of the decade. The Bay of Plenty and Wellington were also involved with short Shield stints during the decade – both beating Auckland at Eden Park, but also both falling to Canterbury. North Harbour secured The Shield for the first time in beating Canterbury, however gave The Shield to a strong Waikato side after three defences.

Fixtures

2000

''Waikato finally succumbed to the pressure of Ranfurly shield rugby after valiantly defending the shield 21 times, a run of games stretching back to 1997''

2001

2002

2003

''After 23 successive shield defences Canterbury fall to long time rivals Auckland – a dominant performance in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, sees The Shield head to Auckland''

2004

''A shock upset in Auckland after only two defences, as the Steamers claim their first Ranfurly Shield victory, a historic win at the hallowed turf of Eden Park'' ''After a brilliant home defence over staunch local rivals Waikato, the Steamers fall to Canterbury as the Red and Black take the Shield back down south''

2005

2006

''Christchurch is the home of upsets as North Harbour win The Shield for the first time in 11 attempts in its 21 year history as a rugby province''

2007

''North Harbour's historic first run of three shield defences comes to a crunching halt by a simply dominant Waikato displaying electric attacking rugby'' ''Ultimately it would not be a successful shield reign for the Mooloos as Canterbury went on to claim the Shield back after just over a year without it'' ''A dominant Auckland team crushed any hopes Canterbury had of repeating the double figure shield defences of earlier in the decade with a classy win''

2008

''On the weekend of Auckland Rugby's 125th anniversary, a dominant Wellington side broke Gull hearts, and its own 26-year drought stretching back to 1982''

2009

''In just under two years after losing The Shield to Auckland, Canterbury regain it after a dominant performance in the Capital, outclassing Wellington'' ''

was again host to a mighty upset as Southland regained the Shield for the fifth time in their history after a 50-year hiatus stretching back to 1959''

External links

Ranfurly Shield history on the Mitre 10 Cup website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranfurly Shield 2000-2009 2000-2009 2000 in New Zealand rugby union 2001 in New Zealand rugby union 2002 in New Zealand rugby union 2003 in New Zealand rugby union 2004 in New Zealand rugby union 2005 in New Zealand rugby union 2006 in New Zealand rugby union 2007 in New Zealand rugby union 2008 in New Zealand rugby union 2009 in New Zealand rugby union