"Insufficient evidence" - NZR's findings from Shield investigation

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) today announced it has concluded an investigation into the treatment of the Ranfurly Shield and images that circulated on social media following Hawke’s Bay’s successful challenge against Wellington.

The independently led investigation took 10 days to complete and included interviews with Hawke’s Bay players and management, as well as testing of the Shield for allegedly illicit substances that were seen in the social media images.

NZR say the investigation has confirmed that the Shield was accidentally dropped by a player on to an internal residential concrete floor.

They also say there was insufficient evidence arising from either the investigation or the independent testing to positively confirm the unknown substance on the Shield.

NZR general manager of community rugby Steve Lancaster said the investigation was commenced following the surfacing of the images on social media.

“After seeing the social media images circulating, NZR immediately initiated a comprehensive, independent investigation to understand what occurred. Whilst NZR is satisfied that the damage was caused by a genuine accident, our expectation is that Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union will evaluate the circumstances that led to the players putting the Shield in a vulnerable position.”

Lancaster said NZR was disappointed by the situation that unfolded, and their next step is to focus on the repair of the Log o’ Wood.

“We remain disappointed in the situation and are now focused on repairing the Shield and reviewing its protocols. The Ranfurly Shield is a taonga of rugby in New Zealand, and our intention is that it can continue to be enjoyed by the community that holds it.”

NZR says it now considers the investigation complete and, once repaired, the Ranfurly Shield will be handed back to Hawke’s Bay.

Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union (HBRU) CEO Jay Campbell said in a statement HBRU accepted the findings of the investigation.

”Whilst this was a genuine accident, no one is more disappointed than the union and playing group. We continue to take full responsibility for the damage and remain committed to supporting the process of repair,” Campbell said.

“Our focus since has been on regaining the trust and support of our community by putting in performances that they can be proud of, and that continues to be the focus this weekend in the NPC final.”

Campbell told Hawke’s Bay Today the Shield, when it eventually returned, would be kept at the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union offices as it was in previous years, but there were no other definitive plans for what to do with it when Hawke’s Bay got it back.

“We haven’t got to that stage yet, we just want to make sure we go through and work through the process of our investigation, and then we will work on the Shield when we get it.”

He was not able to say for certain whether the team would take the NPC trophy on tour if they took it home after the grand final against Taranaki on Saturday.

“We are working really, really hard on trying to put in a performance that our community can be proud of. If we win it, we will deal with that then, but right now we are dealing with what we know, which is that we have got a huge challenge against Taranaki on Saturday, and we will deal with what happens after that,” he said.

“It is the end of the season, so most of the players disperse relatively quickly, but I know at that time, we will engage with our local community about doing something.”

An NZR spokesman said the Ranfurly Shield had been examined by the restorer, but they had no further updates on when it would be repaired.

”NZR will be taking the time to work through the process of repair,” the spokesman said.

A man behind the last decade of major repairs and restorations of the Ranfurly Shield says it would have taken “one hell of a drop” to split the new Shield in half.

James Dwan and his company Tri-Peek have been involved with the Shield’s restoration and repairs over recent years, including the replacement of the badges in 2012 and the most recent major restoration this year, which replaced the original piece of wood with a new solid piece of oak.

Dwan told Hawke’s Bay Today he was sick of the careless treatment of the rugby taonga and called for a fulltime guardian to be responsible for the Shield.

He said the new version of the Shield was three to four times thicker than the original and was made of a single piece of oak, rather than more than one piece like the original.

Dwan said that meant it would require a lot of force to break.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission