“You do feel for them. They’re a formidable side, they knew their game, and they probably had momentum late. But we defended stoutly, and when the crack finally appeared, we slipped in.”
Filipo said senior figures set the tone.
“Hamilton Burr was outstanding: he toiled, scrummed, carried, annoyed, grabbed, he just never stopped competing. That edge gave confidence to everyone else. Guys like him put the team on their back.
”Dylan Eti, in his second game for Waikato, goes pretty good too."
While the Mooloos’ forward pack was not the most experienced, Filipo said they played above themselves.
“George [Dyer] really stood up, Manaaki Boyle Tiatia was huge, and Mason Tupaea, still a young prop, just kept pushing and tackling until he was spent.
“Our loose forwards grew three yards out there today. Everyone was relentless.
“Taranaki have a backline that can tear you apart but we defended really well, and that kept us in the game.”
That relentlessness, he said, was what ultimately got Waikato across the line.
“We weren’t always accurate. We left points out there, gave away penalties at key times. But nobody stopped fighting. Everyone just gave a little bit more than their opposite, and that’s all we needed.
”It’s no longer a game of minutes of opportunities – it can be seconds, and they went our way today."
Filipo knows the Ranfurly Shield carries a unique weight.
“Some guys get multiple cracks at it, others wait a whole career. That’s why it’s so special. You don’t build up to it like a final, it just lands on you. The draw gives you a shot, and you’ve got to seize it.”
The challenge now is balancing celebration with preparation.
“We circled up after the game, acknowledged the occasion, and enjoyed the moment. But with it comes responsibility. Southland will be coming next week, and they’ll throw everything at us. So we’ll enjoy tonight, maybe tomorrow, then Monday is recovery. Tuesday, we start again.”
Filipo admitted the roller-coaster finish took a toll on his nerves.
“It’s probably done nothing for my blood pressure or my mental stability, but I couldn’t be [more proud] of the group. The staff, the players, everyone contributed to this.”
As for the long bus ride back to Hamilton, he joked: “Might have to stop in Taupō for a couple of days – call it a recovery session at the hot pools.”
For Waikato, it was a victory to remember. For Filipo, it was proof his side has the steel to match their talent.
“It’s extremely rare to win the shield, but even harder to hold it. That’s our next challenge. But tonight, we’ll celebrate, because nights like this don’t come often.”
