Auckland (AFP)
A try in the dying minutes by Blake Gibson secured the Auckland Blues their first title in 18 years, Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, after their 23-15 victory in the final over the Otago Highlanders.
The two New Zealand teams fought a battle of great intensity in front of 36,000 people in the final of this competition also bringing together Australian franchises.
This is the Blues' fourth Super Rugby title, after 1996, 1997 and 2003.
"It's a less weight on our shoulders. When we had to draw on our resources, we trusted the guys," said Dalton Papali'i, one of the six All Blacks players in the squad.
The Blues' firepower got the better of the Highlanders, but the game was long undecided due to the indiscipline of the Auckland players.
While the Blues led 13-6 at the break, three successive penalties after the hour mark made them lose their advantage in ten minutes.
The players recovered immediately to regain the lead on a penalty, before the saving test of Blake Gibson.
"I rarely score tries and I do not show my emotions normally, but there, it smelled good", reacted, ecstatic, the third row.
The Blues were third out of five in the New Zealand championship in early spring, not advancing to the final due to a poorer points difference.
This time, with five wins in five matches, they beat the Highlanders and the Crusaders, winner of the national competition, on points difference.
Before the halt to world sport by the Covid-19 pandemic, Super Rugby, a major competition in the Southern Hemisphere, brought together a total of 15 New Zealand, Australian, South African, Argentinian and Japanese franchises.
As a replacement, only national versions were created in Australia and New Zealand: Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Aotearoa, before the merger of the five franchises of the two countries for Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.
© 2021 AFP