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“It’s great that the Ranfurly Shield is alive and well,” Mathis said RugbyPass.
“When we won it last year, it was a moment for Dad, who knew history better than I did. Aaron Cruden had won almost everything in the game, not the Shield up until that point.”
“The intensity goes up 100 per cent in Shield games. We lost to a bloody good Southland team. They played out of their skins. We’ll have to do the same to beat Northland.
“Credit to Northland, they’ve been building for a couple of years now. They’ve got a really strong team with an experienced nine or ten.”
“We have a good mix of youth and experience. Nathan Stephens is one of the best young guys. He’s so eager to learn and get better next week. Then guys like Samipeni Finau add experience and claim. It’s an exciting mix.”
Few players are more exciting in the NPC than Matis. He covers the open side and wing with equal aplomb. He played number 8 against Northland.
On the other hand, his work rate, physicality and defensive efficiency are increasingly consistent. He was first in tackles against Canterbury with 18, made 15 tackles against Otago, 19 against Counties Manukau, 15 against Taranaki and 11 against Hawke’s Bay.
“I felt like I really developed my game and jackal game at Crusaders. I spent a lot of time working one-on-one with (All Black) Matt Todd,” Mathis said.
“My preference is to play on the flanks, to influence the game more defensively and in tight things. I’ll jump to the wing if I have to, but I feel in the modern game you can find space anywhere. You have props who pass as centers, fullbacks who run as wings. It’s much more adaptable.”
Waikato has a rich Ranfurly Shield history with 12 successful challenges. Only Canterbury (18) and Auckland (15) have more. Waikato have won 68 of their 113 Ranfurly Shield matches. Only Auckland (158 wins in 204 games), Canterbury (155 wins in 205 games) and Hawke’s Bay (80 wins in 118 games) have a better record.
Waikato ended North Auckland’s first Ranfurly Shield reign, mounting their first successful challenge on August 18, 1951, when 17-year-old fullback Don “The Boot” Clarke kicked two penalties in a 6-3 win at Okara Park in Whangarei. The captain was flanker Hugh McLean.
Between 1951 and 1957, under the astute tutelage of future All Blacks coach Dick Everest, Waikato won 74, drew nine and lost just 12 of 95 games. Their most famous triumph was a 14-10 win against the Springboks in 1956. Ron Hemi, Rex Pickering, Has Catley and Ponty Reid were famous All Blacks. Don’s brother Ian
Clark was an All Black and his siblings Douglas, Brian and Graeme also joined him in the senior representatives.
When Waikato defended the Ranfurly Shield 21 times between 1997 and 2000, they thumped Northland twice: 63-22 in 1998 and 52-14 in 2000. In each of those games, All Blacks wing Roger Randle scored two tries on the center line and McLee All Black crossed. In the 1998 game, All Black Matthew Cooper scored 23 points; in the 2000 clash Maori All Black Glen Jackson scored 22 points.