Canterbury 7
Wellington 6
KEY POINTS:
And so the agony continues for Wellington. This provincial title has become like the Scarlet Pimpernel for them - they know it exists but they just can't get their hands on it.
And quite how they failed to do so last night will pain them for some time. They had the possession. They had the territory. They had the players. But they didn't have the self-belief when it really mattered and they didn't have the magic key to break down an insanely stubborn Canterbury defence.
Yes, Canterbury were magnificent in their scrambling defence. Yes, they played with a passion that said they really wanted this one and yes, they were more than a little lucky at times.
But even then, acknowledging all that, Wellington will still feel they threw this away.
For most of the second half they had the ball and they played the game at the right end of the field.
They were guilty of kicking too much in the final quarter, which was essentially an admission they had run out of ideas. Whatever they tried, they somehow found a way to make a crucial error.
The most glaring was the one they made with 15 minutes remaining. Alby Mathewson made an electric break down the right wing and had the composure to take his time to assess the best option once he had just Scott Hamilton in front of him. A pass to Cory Jane made sense but after taking the right option he made a total hash of the execution.
That was the story of the night for Wellington. They lacked a little self-belief all night. They had the aggression and willingness in all the right areas - the collision, the set piece, in defence - but their conviction fatally wavered when it came to hammering in the final nail.
It will take them a while to get over this. To understand how they could have had so much possession and done so little with it. That's maybe not fair - they used it well enough in certain areas of the field and showed flashes of enterprise - but it didn't lead to tries being scored. And it didn't win them the title.
Which was in stark contrast to Canterbury. There must be something in the water down there, or maybe they hand out a manual to all newborn boys, explaining precisely how one goes about playing in knock-out football.
It wasn't as if Canterbury were immune to making the same handling and execution errors as Wellington, it was just they had this heightened sense of urgency when there was a sniff of an opportunity.
Something came alive inside the Canterbury players when the space opened up. The ball carrier was always that little bit more aware. The support runners found just a little bit more pace and everything happened with more of a purpose.
Their opening try was a classic example of what can happen if everyone is tuned in and conscious of the need to score points and not be sitting in the changing shed 80 minutes later with a runner's-up medal replaying botched opportunities on a continuous loop.
A smart break by Tyson Keats left Isaac Ross galloping down towards the Wellington line. He delayed his off-load, allowing Tim Bateman to go a few metres short. Now this is when there was no messing about. There was none of the usual standing for an age with the ball secure discussing what to do next.
Hayden Hopgood swooped, picked the ball up and, with exemplary body position, smashed his way over.
Just as clinical, although with an entirely cynical bent, was the way Keats pulled back Jeremy Thrush early in the second half after a classy break out by Cory Jane and Tamati Ellison.
Canterbury was scrambling and Thrush toe-poked through a loose ball that had numerous potential outcomes for the home side - all of them positive - but the big lock had his progress stopped illegally.
Piri Weepu knocked over the subsequent penalty but Keats had seen the logic of conceding three to save seven - it was a net gain to Canterbury of four.
And it was a net gain that made all the difference. There is an art to playing finals rugby and it boils down to doing what you have to do to make sure your side has more points on the board come the final whistle.
Canterbury know that. Wellington, having lost their third consecutive final, still seem to be having trouble getting that message on board.
Canterbury 7 (H. Hopgood try; C. Slade con)
Wellington 6 (P. Weepu 2 pens)
