In the south of Hawke’s Bay the schools of the Dannevirke district have regularly supplied strong, capable and skilled players to the tournament.

A colder, wetter climate has never diminished the players’ enthusiasm and they have relished the opportunity to test their ability against their city counterparts and have valued their many wins.

In the past the area has gone under various names – South, Southern, Southern Hawke’s Bay and latterly, just Dannevirke. At one stage the jersey had hoops but I’m not sure what the colours were as the photographs were black and white, as you would expect in 1930’s.

Dannevirke, as a township, has fully embraced the Ross Shield and the shops and many houses are decorated with ribbons, mementoes, banners and welcoming signs. The main State Highway gets traffic diverted to allow a march past, complete with pipe bands and often a celebrity player. Past Ross Shield players join in with the parade proudly wearing their caps following behind the police escort.