With the way trophies like this become part of the celebration for the winning team each year in so many sports codes. I am surprised this type of accident doesn't happen more often.
this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2023
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Very true, it has probably been dropped hundreds of times, and this split is just the end result of years of drops.
That's the weird thing... This is a completely new piece of wood, the old one was so battered from all the celebrations over the years that they remade it with very similar wood, and took the metal pieces off and transferred them over.
I've not seen a high enough res picture, but it almost looks to me like it split clean, so either bad wood, or if it was from laminated pieces, a bad glue job.
Interesting! Would the wood be replaced regularly or would that have been the first time?
I believe it was the first time, the old wood was pretty knackered apparently. Its oak, so should be pretty hardy, which is why I wonder if there was a defect and its split along that when it took a knock on the floor.
Looking at the picture halfway down the article, the grain is pretty noticeable which makes me wonder if the growth rings are pretty spread apart which indicates faster growth. I'm not much of a wood worker but from what I know the tighter growth rings are usually an indication of slower growth & stronger wood.
Isn't it better to be used than put in a cupboard? The accident is fine: it can be repaired!
Drugs a bad look though for sports teams. Expect the media to run a bit longer here
There's not a lot of confirmed details out there yet, but from what i've heard suggested the shield was at a party at someone's house. So if they are what they appear to be, the drugs could easily be from friends / associates / friends of friends and not necessarily players.
Perhaps to put it in perspective. The two "cities" that make up the main urban area for Hawkes Bay are Napier (65k) and Hastings (85k). So you're talking about big fish in a small pond, and I can guarantee there wasn't a lot happening after the pubs closed around 2-3am or so in Napier. Which means that any private party players might have gone to afterwards could easily have had all sorts of hangers-on turning up, even though it was at somebodies house.
What has been confirmed though is that one of the players has been charged with drink driving afterwards, which given all the education and strictness around things in NZ is really stupid.
The Stanley Cup (North American hockey trophy) has a full-time caretaker who travels with it. Every member of the winning team gets some time with it. They can show it off in their home town, eat their breakfast cereal out of it, whatever. It's probably seen a lot of white powder. But this guy is always there to take care of it. And to wash it. Often multiple times per day.
They recognized the consequences of sending the trophy traveling like they do, and instead of switching to a replica or something they got it a bodyguard.
These kind of trophies that travel are the best. So much more interesting than the ones that sit in display cases all the time. But you have to either dump resources into protecting it or be willing to replace/repair when necessary.
This is why, iirc, the top 14 hand out a replica.
Edit: and don’t forget the Calcutta cup being used as a soccer ball outside the Balmoral hotel back in 1990