Canterbury retained the Ranfurly Shield at Jade Stadium on Saturday evening , defeating a very spirited Southland challenge by 48-27.

With many of their All Blacks returning to NPC action, notably Andrew Mehrtens, Justin Marshall, Chris Jack and Richard McCaw, it was unlikely that the Southlanders would offer more than token resistance. But nothing could have been further from the truth. Although outclassed in many respects , they were competitive throughout , and Ben Herring's sensational second try, on the final whistle , gave his side their fourth and an invaluable competition bonus point.

It took Canterbury some time to warm to their task, their first points only coming with a 10th minute Andrew Mehrtens penalty. But , in territorial terms, they dominated the half , scoring at regular intervals to open up a 22-3 half time lead with tries from Hammett , Marshall and Ralph. After the All Black winger's effort down the left wing, it seemed that the opening of the floodgates was imminent. This never happened.

Southland rocked the Cantabrians back on their heels in the third quarter, Herring's first try after 44 minutes setting the tone and inspiring his side to lift the tempo of the match. If they were going to lose it would not be without a fight. The final quarter of the game saw a scoring frenzy. In that time Canterbury scored four tries, Mehrtens and Nathan Mauger showing the defence a clean pair of heels, to squash the visitors' ambitions. Nevertheless, Herring's back row partner, Hale T-Pole, who never stopped trying all evening , stole around the front of a line out to embarrass the Canterbury defence , then sub Richard Newman had the benefit of the bounce as he ran on to a chip ahead, then Herring stole the show with what may turn out to be the try of the season. Catching the kick off following Newman's try, he burst through the first line of tacklers before heading off on a 50 metres dash for the line, defenders scrambling in his wake. That last ditch bonus point was well -deserved and may be crucial come season's end.

Scorers :

Canterbury : 48 Tries : Hammett, Marshall, Ralph ( 2 ), N.Mauger, Mehrtens, penalty try

Southland : Try : Herring

Teams :

Canterbury : Ben Blair, Joe Maddock, Daryl Gibson, Nathan Mauger, Caleb Ralph, Andrew Mehrtens, Justin Marshall, Scott Robertson, Richard McCaw, Sam Broomhall, Chris Jack, Matt Dalzell, David Hewett, Mark Hammett ( captain ), Chris King

Subs : Laurence Corlett, Greg Somerville, Daniel Turner, Johnny Leo'o, Ben Hurst, Aaron Mauger, Alisi Tupuailei.

Southland : Norman Ligairi, Pailate Fili, Hayden Martine, Seremaia Bai, Roy Hawker, Ashley Barron, Jimmy Cowan, Iona Sipa, Ben Herring, Hale T-Pole, Steve Jackson ( captain ), Daniel Quate, Clarke Dermody, David Hall, Keith Cameron.

Subs : Paul Roberts, Brett Roberts, Andrew McClintock, Justin Matheson, Jason Harrison, Richard Newman, Bryan Milne.