Roughly 20 minutes into the match, he was caught at the bottom of a rather aggressive ruck, and a French boot kicked his groin, ripping his scrotum and leaving one testicle hanging free.

After discovering the injury to his scrotum, he calmly asked the physiotherapist to stitch up the tear and returned to the field before a blow to his head left him concussed.

Upon becoming captain, Shelford brought his teammates to Te Aute College, a Māori school, to see the students perform a traditional haka.

[6] In 1990, the All Blacks' selectors decided that Shelford was not up to the standard for the team and he was controversially dropped after the test series against Scotland.

Shelford said he had "no hard feelings" about being dropped and that he had spoken with the then selector, Alex Wyllie, who expressed a "few regrets" about his decision.

Shelford moved to England to play for Northampton, helping to revitalise a team languishing at the lower end of the first division and inspiring them to their first Pilkington Cup final.

[9] In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Shelford was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to rugby and the community.

[10] Shelford told Liam Napier of The New Zealand Herald, "[the award is] a great accolade...I'll wear it with pride for the family and all the organisations I work with.

He told Newstalk ZB's Murray Deaker that he wanted his privacy respected as he focused on his recovery and said he would not be making any further personal statements.

[citation needed] In 2022, Shelford was elected national president of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association.