Touch team bring gold home from Scotland

February's destructive earthquake and his wife and two kids ensconced safely in Tauranga were never far from transplanted Cantabrian Steve Toki's mind during an emotional finish to the Touch World Cup in Scotland.
Toki, who moved his family north to Tauranga in March, has returned home a double world champion after the New Zealand mixed 30+ team he vice-captained took gold in a thrilling overtime win against Australia.
The 33-year-old also came home from the 2007 World Cup in South Africa with gold although, there, he was in the coaching team after falling outside playing eligibility by a couple of weeks.
Toki said World Cup victory in Scotland had given a golden lining to a dark year for the family following the February 22 jolt.
He is still mourning close friend Jeff Sanft, who died when falling rubble crushed a bus on Columbo St, while a good mate of his dad's perished in the CTV building.
"It wasn't an easy decision to move away because I'm a Christchurch boy, but Michelle's from here and we were up every Christmas so it was easier on her and the kids... a happy wife's a happy life and all that."
Toki counts his family lucky after their home in Aranui was damaged severely.
"Enough was enough and our side of the town out east was real bad. Everyone was traumatised so it's been about getting away from the memories and making sure the kids get settled."
The painter/decorator wouldn't have felt comfortable going to Scotland if the family had stayed on the Mainland.
"I wouldn't have left Michelle and the kids and, financially, it would have been impossible. The masters teams aren't sponsored or subsidised and finding $7000 was enough of a struggle anyway."
Toki compared the elation of winning gold to "the day you have your first child" - and his 30+ team literally did hard labour to defeat Australia 7-6 in extra-time to bag the World Cup.
Three other Tauranga players also won medals - silver - with Arepa Ohia's open men's team beaten 7-6 by the Aussies and Toia Tiwha and Awhina Savage downed in the open mixed final 10-7, also by Australia, with 18-year-old Tiwha scoring a first-half hat-trick of tries.
Australia wrapped up all three open grades and retained the overall world championship.
Toki's team lost 10-9 to Australia in pool play but exacted revenge in post-section by a solitary point to set up a grand final showdown.
Down by one with just seconds to go, Toki combined with George Albert-Jahnke to score and level it at 6-6 to force extra-time. Each team jettisoned a player every minute the stalemate remained until it was just Toki and two teammates on the field. He was part of a 40m break that led to Samantha Rowe's dramatic matchwinner.
"It was all on bro, and then to win it the way we did - just three of us on the field and golden point - was massive.
"There was a bit of strategy involved - you want your fittest and fastest out there and I was used more on attack than defence, so I had a bit left at the back end of the game - but that last move was spontaneous and we just played what was in front of us, hoping a gap would open up somewhere."
Toki was back at his daughter's Maungaarangi Kindergarten and Whanau centre this week showing off his World Cup gong to a room of wide-eyed preschoolers who, weeks before, had sent him on his way with a stack of good luck cards and posters which were stuck to the New Zealand team room wall as inspiration for the players.