Wellington celebrate a try for Julian Savea during the NPC Final. Photo / Photosport
Wellington 23
Bay of Plenty 20
Chants of “Wellyhoo, Wellyhoorah” will ring out in the capital after a dramatic, gripping final befitting this year’s captivating NPC season.
Wellington emerged from a knife-edge contest to be crowned champions in an emotive triumph over a gallant Bay of Plenty on Saturday afternoon.
These teams needed golden point extra-time to be separated during the regular season and that again proved the case in this finale, with 100 minutes required to determine the title.
Wellington’s sixth national title is their second in three years but only their fifth win in 14 finals after their success in 2022 broke a 22-year drought.
This title carries poignant significance for Wellington after Connor Garden-Bachop’s sudden death at age 25 from a medical event four months ago. His brother, Jackson, played his 100th game for Wellington in the final, the first player to do so since Tana Umaga. He and the Wellington team will treasure this tribute.
Veteran loose forward Brad Shields led from the front at crucial times for Wellington but replacement first five-eighth Callum Harkin proved the match-winner by striking a long-range 93rd-minute penalty after a huge scrum to break the deadlock.
From there, Wellington desperately clung on to their three-point lead.
Bay of Plenty, playing in their maiden final and seeking their first top-flight title in 45 years, since the inaugural NPC season in 1976, were left devastated after pushing Wellington to the brink.
While Wellington topped the regular season with two defeats, Bay of Plenty reached the final the hard way by coming through Hawke’s Bay and Canterbury in their playoff matches.
The Steamers, and their hearty group of travelling supporters, can be proud of an impressive season in which they left the mark and came oh so close.