The final of the ITM Cup will be contested by Canterbury and Waikato after the latter beat Auckland 38-37 in a thrilling contest at Eden Park on Saturday. It was a nailbiting finish with all the drama of some of the other great games on the weekend.
A last minute converted try separated the two after it looked like old rivals Auckland and Canterbury would be battling it out for the cup. Instead, Waikato and Canterbury will face each other for the first time in a National Provincial Championship final.
The Waikato win over Auckland was their sixth in succession so despite not being favourites for the final, theyll be brimming with confidence after their sensational win.
Hikairo Forbes was the man who finally barged over after lengthy periods of pressure on the line. Trent Renata then stood up to be counted and duly slotted the winning kick.
“I’m sure it’s everybody’s dream to do something like that in such a critical game,” tryscorer Forbes, who came on as hooker replacement, said afterwards.
“The noise was incredible. I spent most of the time on the bench and you could hear everything. I’m sure it helped. It was just a pretty mean atmosphere for the guys.”
The turnout in the refurbished stadium was a little over ten thousand, with the Waikato fans making the biggest noise come the last few minutes.
Incredibly, the transmission started breaking up at the crucial moments near the end of the game, so there were no replays of the try and youll see a few jumpy bits. Luckily the important stuff was captured though as Waikato recorded their famous win.
Time:
06:03
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