Rugby: Victory crowns tough season for Canterbury

Drained both physically and mentally, Canterbury team members celebrate their nine-point win over Waikato. Photo / Getty Images

Canterbury 12 Waikato 3

Canterbury captain George Whitelock was already relishing the prospect of a three-month break just minutes after winning his fourth consecutive provincial title.

The toll of a long campaign that came immediately on the back of an extended Super rugby competition was being felt throughout the Canterbury changing room. The players were not only physically drained by the time the final whistle went, they were mentally drained too.

It has been a tough season, particularly for those such as Whitelock who had to navigate a Crusaders campaign without a home ground.

Little wonder, then, that the skipper was beaming at what his troops had achieved and just as pumped at the fact that it was all over.

"It is good to know we have a break now," said Whitelock. "We have got two groups in our squad. We have got one that just played that [ITM Cup] campaign and they would probably love to keep going, and the other that played for the Crusaders and have not had a break all the way through.

"Looking forward to next year it is going to be just as challenging and it is going to be very interesting to see how it is handled."

The final did not offer much in the way of flowing or memorable rugby, but it did produce the expected intensity and commitment. And in a dog fight, there was only ever going to be one winner.

Canterbury are the experts at digging in and seeing big games through to the right conclusion. They revel at being under pressure and seem to have this innate ability to win when it really matters.

They also had an extra emotional driver this time round with a sense of playing for their wider region, which has endured an awful 12 months.

"We had [Christchurch Mayor] Bob Parker come in on Tuesday and name the team," said Whitelock. "He handed out the jerseys. That was a very special thing for the boys - to be able to reflect on what has happened in our region ... that was the motivation as well as all the other motivating factors."

It wasn't just emotion and determination that saw Canterbury hold on for the 12-3 victory. They owe much to the quality of the performance of first five Tom Taylor, who was thrust into the game after 20 minutes. Coming in cold could have been disastrous but the 22-year-old was composed and lively in everything he did.

He chose his options carefully but, most important, he landed four penalties that gave Canterbury security on the scoreboard.

"Tom is a gem," said coach Rob Penney. "He has got amazing work ethic. He has got a degree of calmness and he is a smart kid. This time last year he was just about ready but physically he wasn't.

"He took that on the chin and went away and worked really hard with our trainers and got himself into a position physically where now he can go out on the track and feel confident that he can dominate a tackle situation or carry the ball and feel confident he is not going to be injured. He has got some great years ahead of him."