Rugby: Otago winger Jona Nareki played with ruptured testicle in Ranfurly Shield win

Otago's Jona Nareki. Photo / Photosport

Jona Nareki put his balls on the line to help Otago win the Log o' Wood last week.

The Otago winger suffered a ruptured testicle midway through the second half of the Ranfurly Shield match-up against Waikato in Hamilton.

"I can't really explain the pain," Nareki told Radio Hauraki's The Matt & Jerry Show. "I could only lie down to ease the pain away. For a minute there I had to get up and run again."

The Shield match was a classic, going down to the wire with Otago ultimately securing the shield for the summer with a 23-19 victory over Waikato.

Despite the horrific injury, Nareki was forced to play on, coming back onto the field in the dying stages of the game after other players were forced to leave the field with injuries. He even made a few tackles to help the southerners to their first shield win since 2013.

"I didn't actually know I had ruptured my nut so I just jumped back on. I was trying to stay away from the ruck but there was one point where I had to clean this ruck.

"As soon the ruck finished I just boosted it back up and said 'na, I'm not going back in there'."

Nareki did confirm that he will make a full recovery, despite joking: "I lost a nut, but gained a shield."

Otago face Hawke's Bay in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship semifinal on Saturday.