North Harbour

Eleven attempts came and went before North Harbour finally got their hands on the Ranfurly Shield, and when it happened, in September 2006, it happened against the side that had held it: 21–17 over Canterbury. They kept it for a year. It stands as the union's defining moment, ahead of anything managed in league competition, because the Premiership final has eluded them since the one appearance they made in it, in 1994, lost to Auckland.

That match against Auckland carries weight beyond the scoreline. North Harbour split away from the Auckland Rugby Union in 1985, wanting a name and a base of their own for the clubs north of the Harbour Bridge, and the fixture between the two is still called the Battle of the Bridge. Northland provides the other regular rival.

Before the Shield run, the union's honours were modest and came early: the NPC Division 3 title in 1986, the year after formation, followed by the Division 2 North Island title in 1987. Both mark a union finding its feet rather than arriving.

The playing squad has carried names bigger than the results. Jonah Lomu wore the colours, as did Tony Woodcock, Luke McAlister, Eric Rush and Frank Bunce. Buck Shelford, who played for the union, later returned to coach it. That gap between the calibre of players who have passed through Albany and the union's actual list of silverware runs through the whole story: a side that has produced and hosted All Blacks without turning it into a Premiership title.