Our northernmost Sub-Union has always given the Ross Shield their strong support, their players, and some of the best hosted tournaments. The riverside community has been well supported by players coming from the distant rural areas and townships of Mahia, Waikaremoana, Mohaka, Raupunga, Opoutama, Tuai, Frasertown, Turiroa and Nuhaka. The boys have always been rugged and strong with natural skills. Often their success is not realised until towards the end of the tournament as they overcome their shyness and become aware of their ability.

Recently the Sub-Union has been split with some of the senior clubs opting to play in the Poverty Bay competition whilst others have remained within the Wairoa and Hawke’s Bay organisation. Even the local secondary school, Wairoa College, has had difficulty in recent seasons to get regular fixtures against other Hawke’s Bay secondary schools due to a reluctance to travel by the southern schools.

It is my belief that it is really the Ross Shield tournament that holds Wairoa to its historical alliance and this has been regularly expressed as “We don’t want to lose the Ross Shield opportunities” and the commonly heard statement “It gives our whole district a focus.”

When Cyclone Bola devastated the East Coast in 1989 Wairoa turned to the Ross Shield and used the tournament to unite a town split by the loss of the bridge. The colour of the tracksuits and gear gave a splash of colour to a sombre occasion.