North Shore mayor watches Harbour lift log’o’wood
September 24, 2006

North Shore City’s mayor, George Wood, was at Jade Stadium this afternoon to watch North Harbour make history by beating Canterbury to lift the Ranfurly Shield for the first time.

The rugby-mad former Northcote lock became a devoted Harbour fan when the province kicked off two decades ago. Since becoming mayor in 1998, he has attended every challenge Harbour has made to lift the Log o’Wood.

The mayor was on hand to congratulate Harbour captain Rua Tipoki after the 21-17 victory and watched on as the skipper lifted New Zealand’s most prized rugby trophy.

“I’m absolutely delighted for the boys,” Mr Wood says. “They played brilliantly and have done us proud.

“I’ll be talking with council colleagues, North Harbour Rugby and the team at North Harbour Stadium tomorrow morning to see what we can do to celebrate Harbour’s return to the Shore.”

George Wood says it has been a memorable week for North Harbour and the region’s multi-purpose stadium at Albany which has attracted increasing attention as a venue to host Rugby World Cup matches in 2011.

“We’ve shown that our people and facilities should never be under-estimated.

“It’s appropriate that we’ve capped off a good week with a great Shield win. North Harbour may have only a short history but we’ve got an exciting and successful future ahead of us,” Mr Wood says.

ENDS

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