Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC).

The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was rendered merely symbolic, after the infamous 1979 incident where the the shield – at the time being used to fend off an aggressive rolling maul from Taranaki – became lodged in the chest of hooker Dave Logswood, who conceded the lack of irony in his predicament.

Logswood died in hospital later that evening of an unrelated gaping abdominal wound, but nonetheless, damage to the trophy’s reputation had been done, and later that month, it was banned from play.

Critics howled that the sport had become soft, and in a major blow to its old world reputation, possibly homosexual. But NZR stood firm, and the shield was relegated to the trophy cabinet.

Despite this, the debate has never ended. It’s been contested that the ban was unnecessary, overly favourable to the offense, and may even have created more danger than that it sought to address.

It’s been argued that the banning of the shield in play contributed, in part, to the tragic death of three Bay of Plenty players – then holders of the shield – when they found themselves with no means of blocking flaming arrows fired by Northland during the 1987 semifinal.

Flaming arrows were not allowed in the rules at the time, but in an era before TMO, they went missed by match officials until replays were shown after the game.

Northland received a $100 fine and a $200 gift card, which the referee had accidentally placed in his pocket instead of the yellow infringement card.

The return of the shield as an instrument of blunt force has been welcomed across the league.

Tasman rugby CEO Steve Mitchell, whose team currently holds the shield, said it was “about time.”

“There hasn’t been a death related to the shield in 45 years, and I don’t expect there to be very many now that it’s back,” he said. “The shield has gotten much blunter over time. I think in today’s league you’d have to really bludgeon someone over the head with it to do any critical damage, and I’d expect any referee worth their salt will put a stop to that after five or six decent blows.”

The shield will be limited to use only in challenge matches, and will be inspected for cocaine prior to each game to ensure its holder is not gaining an unfair advantage by using it sober.