Ranfurly Shield
Southland 16 Otago 12
This was always going to be a fierce encounter. Never mind the Ranfurly Shield and the local derby, when Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt found out Dunedin was surreptitiously planning a victory parade for the Shield, he could scarcely get his teeth out of the way to start spreading the news.
Dunedin's city fathers - who somehow managed to send Mayor Tim a confidential email to blow the secret - tried to backtrack and say they weren't being arrogant. Parades take a lot of time to organise.
Otago knew the backlash was coming and hoed into Southland as much as the Stags did into them. It made for a stirring, physical affair; an archetypal Shield challenge.
Matters took a depressingly familiar turn when referee Jonathon White yellow-carded Otago first five-eighth Glenn Dickson for a spear tackle - although it looked more like Dickson was helping the opponent to have a lie-down and a cup of tea rather than a big, bad spear tackle.
If the offence didn't warrant a yellow card - what's got into our refs? Is the concept of discretion totally dead? - at least it didn't ruin the game.
Otago went down 6-3 to the penalty from Dickson's offence but might have equalised if former All Black Ben Smith had kicked the goal that Dickson most likely would have if he hadn't been stuck in the naughty chair.
They banged away at Southland, with prop Kees Meeuws, lock Hoani Matenga, flanker Alando Soakai, winger Fetu'u Vainikolo and second five-eighth Josh Tatupu making inroads into the Southland defence. The mistakes frustrated them and they had to wait until Dickson was back on the field to kick another goal to even things up at 6-6.
That's how tight it was. Both sides would crash away at each other, surge up the field a bit before the defence and a few errors combined to keep the scoring down to kicks.
There was none of this Fancy Dan All Black stuff, keeping the ball in hand and not kicking it out; keeping away from the set pieces. This was an old-fashioned war of attrition; a battle of wills and centimetres.
Otago took the lead with another Dickson kick just before halftime - and it was what they deserved. Their defence was of the death-before-dishonour variety and their pack was out-driving, out-rucking and out-scrumming the holders.
Southland started to feel a little anxious - they were working hard but the little mistakes kept coming; costing them impetus.
When fullback Robbie Robinson missed two penalties that would have brought matters level, you began to wonder if the mayorly mouth should have stayed shut.
A raid led by prop Jamie Mackintosh, lock Josh Bekhuis and flanker Tim Boys saw James Wilson finally slot the resulting penalty to lock it up at 9-9 - but that lasted only minutes before a Dickson drop goal restored the lead. Then our old friend, the yellow card, came to visit again. Otago prop Sam Hibbard pulled off a blatant professional foul as Southland finished strongly - it was almost a penalty try offence - and Mackintosh drove over from a lineout for a try hotly disputed by Otago.
It was the decisive moment. Otago will now add to the 53 years they have existed without the Shield. The parade plans will go into a file marked: "Confidential. Do NOT send to Tim Shadbolt."
Southland 16 (J. Mackintosh try, R. Robinson 2 pens, J. Wilson con, pen), Otago 12 (G. Dickson 3 pens, drop goal). Halftime: 6-9.
