HAWKES BAY WON the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in 44 years at the weekend and their players danced many a celebratory jig on the pitch at Dunedin’s ‘Glasshouse’ stadium.
The last player to realise the Magpies had triumphed was their prop, Ben Franks. The New Zealand international, featuring in his first game with the ITM Cup side, hung his head at the final whistle as he thought his team had been beaten 20-19 rather than winning by the same scoreline.
Franks did not seem to register the fact that Otago outhalf Hayden Parker missed his conversion, the desperate scramble for an Otago drop goal, which was blocked down, or the celebrations from his other 14 teammates at the final whistle.
Franks told RadioSport, “I thought we were down by one point so when the whistle went I was like ‘ohhh we’ve lost’ and then I looked up and saw the boys were jumping up and down so it took me a few seconds to realise we’d won the game.”
Check out the video here [keep an eye out for No.17 Franks]:
YouTube credit: NZAUTV8
