Canterbury defeated Otago 36–28 in a thrilling National Provincial Championship final on Saturday afternoon in Christchurch.
The match, played under sunny skies, marked the last grand final to be held at the city’s temporary stadium in Addington, with a new arena set to open next year.
Otago led 14–10 at halftime, helped by a strong wind at their backs. But Canterbury stormed back in the second half, scoring three unanswered tries to take control of the game. Their powerful lineout drives, strong defence, and teamwork proved too much for Otago.
Canterbury’s victory was their 15th NPC title and their first since 2017. The win was also a sweet moment of payback after Otago had taken the Ranfurly Shield from them earlier in the season.
Dallas McLeod, Manasa Mataele, Braydon Ennor, and Louie Chapman were among the try-scorers for Canterbury. Replacement prop Gus Brown added another late in the game. Otago fought hard, with standout plays from Thomas Umaga-Jensen and Jona Nareki, but they couldn’t catch up before the final whistle.
This was Otago’s first NPC final since 2005.
