Nobody argued.
The game was played at a windswept Princess Street Reserve.
Playing with the wind, Eastern Bay of Plenty scored first, through second five-eighth Leethan Rawiri’s 10th-minute try. It came from a maul that began five metres out from the right sideline.
Fullback Rob Tai converted.
The Coast struck back in the 20th minute, left-wing Kris Palmer scoring after sustained Coast pressure.
Moments later, Eastern Bay went 12-5 ahead with a try to their player of the day, loosehead prop Jamal Reriti.
But East Coast had the last word before halftime with a try to blindside flanker Kareti Palmer, brother Kris kicking the conversion for 12-12 at the break.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Tai kicked a penalty from just inside the East Coast 22 in front of the posts for 15-12.
It was left to Kris Palmer, in the 70th minute, to reply with a 40-metre effort, 15m in from the right sideline, to equalise, 15-all.
The Coast had held the Basil Simpson Trophy only once before, in the Rugby World Cup year of 2011, and in the last 10 minutes they put their hosts under tremendous pressure in running the ball from all parts at every opportunity.
Wayne Ensor, who coaches East Coast with Troy Para, paid tribute to the hard pre-season work that made such a gutsy showing possible.
“The Eastern Bay team we played this year was far better than the one we played in 2016, when they hammered us in Tolaga Bay,” Ensor said.
“Our boys surprised themselves with their fitness — ‘Hey, our hard work is paying off’.
“Perrin (Manuel) leads from the front. Our play at the ruck was good and we also know what we have to work on with our set-pieces: timing at the line-out, scrummaging.
“This was a big improvement on where we were at this time last year, skills-wise. These guys now understand how we need them to play and what their roles are on the field.
“Our player of the day was No.8 Paddy Allen but some guys put their hands up — (prop) Laman Davies, (lock) Hone Haerewa, (second-five) Kahu Ward, to name just a few.”
East Coast skipper and hooker Manuel said the game was “very physical but expansive at the same time”.
“Their pack was a bit bigger than ours and their technique at the scrum was very good, but our boys played out of their skin, for 80 minutes. They all staked their claim to a Heartland spot.”
Eastern Bay coach Mike Smith said he had seen East Coast teams with bigger names in the past nine years, but what they brought this year was a great performance.
“They came to play and they probed our weaknesses on both sides of the ground. They were patient.”
Smith’s on-field leader agreed.
“It was hard-fought and physical,” said Eastern Bay captain and lock Luke van Veen, who plays his club rugby for Whakatane Marist.
“The game was played in good spirit. Both teams had opportunities right on each other’s line from the start. It’s a game everybody wants to get up for.
“The referee, George Haswell, was good value, too. He was consistent and called what he saw — that’s all we wanted.”
Eighteen-year-old Mt Maunganui College head prefect Haswell, who took up the whistle in 2011, complimented the team captains on the positive rugby played.
“They were really good to work with — the first penalty came 20 minutes into the game,” he said.
“Both captains were constructive and Perrin (Manuel) was very calm, taking my feedback back to the Coast.
“The communication between my team (Haswell and assistant referees Noi Elmiger and Doug Clay), Eastern Bay and the Coast was excellent.”
