Canterbury vs Wellington

Meanwhile, Pek Cowan has injured himself in the warm up for Wellington, so PJ Scheck starts in the front row and Siale Lauaki joins the bench. It's an ...

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Twenty-two long years since their last title, Wellington are provincial champions. History has haunted Wellington with nine lost finals – four of those against ...

Replacement Wellington halfback Richard Judd was yellow carded for a late tackle, but Wellington survived the final two-and-a-half minutes to emerge deserved victors. What a season for Wellington. Canterbury largely dominated territory and possession in the first half through their kick-first approach but other than a try to Manasa Mataele they were kept in the contest through Fergus Burke's boot. Replacement playmaker Aidan Morgan should have put the contest to bed but he missed two penalties – in the 65th and 75th minute – to open the door. While their scrum was shaky in the first half after losing starting prop Pek Cowan to injury in the warm-up, Wellington's lineout enjoyed dominance to steal two Canterbury throws – one of which led to the opening try for Ruben Love after a superb bust from Du'Plessis Kirifi. To achieve such a feat in Christchurch, a graveyard for visiting teams, only enhances the significance.

The Lions grinded out a 26-18 win over Canterbury in Christchurch to claim their first provincial championship since 2000.

The Lions stole a ball from a Canterbury lineout deep in their own half and instead of opting to relieve pressure with a kick, they exerted it by shifting the ball wide to Du'Plessis Kirifi who linked up with Ruben Love to put the fullback over. The win was built on a gritty defence and hardfought battles at the ruck, piling pressure on the Cantabrians which led to uncharacteristic errors in front of their home crowd on a clear Christchurch evening. It took them 22 years, but Wellington have finally found their way back to the top of the provincial ladder after a gritty win over Canterbury in Christchurch this evening.

Wellington has won its first NPC title in 22 years following a 26-18 victory over Canterbury in the final. Fijian flyer Manasa Mataele scored for Canterbury ...

— Bunnings NPC (@BunningsNPC) [October 22, 2022]

Match starts at 23:05 PM · There's no secret that Canterbury have dominated this competition, with 14 NPC titles, and if they win again tonight you'd expect it ...

Replacement Wellington halfback Richard Judd was yellow carded for a late tackle, but Wellington survived the final two-and-a-half minutes to emerge deserved victors. What a season for Wellington. Canterbury largely dominated territory and possession in the first half through their kick-first approach but other than a try to Manasa Mataele they were kept in the contest through Fergus Burke's boot. Replacement playmaker Aidan Morgan should have put the contest to bed but he missed two penalties – in the 65th and 75th minute – to open the door. While their scrum was shaky in the first half after losing starting prop Pek Cowan to injury in the warm-up, Wellington's lineout enjoyed dominance to steal two Canterbury throws – one of which led to the opening try for Ruben Love after a superb bust from Du'Plessis Kirifi. To achieve such a feat in Christchurch, a graveyard for visiting teams, only enhances the significance.

Jubilant Lions win their first NPC title in 22 years with victory in a pulsating decider in Christchurch.

A beautiful mind crunching all the player stats. If quality local sport journalism is important to you, become a Stuff supporter today. You need journalists close enough to smell the liniment.