Sole survivor Tupou leads rank-outsider Steelers into Ranfurly Shield challenge against Northland

Counties Manukau captain Jimmy Tupou is the last surviving link to the Steelers’ only Ranfurly Shield tenure, and on Saturday he will lead a side sitting 13th in the NPC table into a challenge against table-topping Northland in Whangarei.

Tupou, now 34, started at lock when Counties beat Hawke’s Bay 27-24 at McLean Park in Napier on September 7, 2013 — the Steelers’ first successful Shield challenge after 24 failed attempts stretching back to 1958. That victory came despite Counties losing earlier that season to Wellington (16-55), Tasman (20-40), and Auckland (20-22), making it one of the more improbable Shield captures in the competition’s history.

The Steelers went on to defend the Log o’ Wood six times, repelling challenges from Taranaki, Waikato, Southland, Thames Valley, Mid Canterbury, and Otago, before Hawke’s Bay reclaimed it on August 30, 2014, winning 27-21 with flanker Brendan O’Connor scoring two tries.

The contrast between that Counties side and the current one is stark. Northland hold the Shield after a stunning 36-12 upset of Canterbury in Christchurch on August 20 and have since turned back challenges from Tasman (20-10) and Waikato (34-17). Counties, meanwhile, were beaten 50-21 by Otago last Friday and have managed just two wins all season — a 46-35 victory over Wellington and a 47-24 home win over Southland.

Tupou, however, draws on 2013 as evidence that form counts for little when the Shield is on the line.

“The Shield is a one-off game. It requires quicker efforts to get back up off the ground, more intensity, accuracy and risk,” he told RugbyPass. “In 2013, we had no momentum before that Hawke’s Bay game, but the carrot of the Ranfurly Shield lifted the boys.”

He is clear-eyed about the size of the task. “Northland don’t have many chinks in their armour. They play for each other, are accurate at set pieces, and defensively strong. Our best rugby can be very good. We’ve got the ability to go off script and really unsettle teams with our flair. If we can reduce mistakes and play with freedom, we have to believe.”

Tupou also reflected on what Shield rugby means beyond the result, recalling the community gatherings and airport receptions that followed Counties’ 2013 win. “It’s awesome that a smaller union like Northland has had the Shield. It really galvanises the community. That’s the special thing about the NPC — we can’t afford to lose that,” he said. “Shield rugby is bigger. It can be a great launchpad for the future.”