On a warm afternoon up the valley, Taihape had dominated the first 25 minutes of play through their virtually full-Whanganui forward pack – the side so strong that hooker Roman Tutauha came off the bench.
His Ruapehu brethren Gabriel Hakaraia started at rake and dominated on the fringes, being denied one try which winger Johnny Vuetibau was ultimately given credit for, then getting his own.
Returning lock Peter Travis-Hay Horton and busy No 8 Ben Whale also set the tone with hit-ups and offloads, while flanker Jamie Hughes operated as a virtual midfielder off the set plays.
Asked to make a lot of cover tackles, Ngamatapouri were trapped in their own half, not having the same basic fundamentals of set-piece and ruck-ball retention.
But when they turn it on out wide, they're as dangerous as any Tasman Tanning Premier club, as new import Josaia Bogileka scored a 50m try against the run of play in the first half to close the gap to 12-7, and then produced key passes down the left flank to set up corner-flag tries by winger Epeli Delasau and his replacement, Remi Haplin.
Both teams got tired in a penalty-heavy final quarter, as Taihape's saving grace was their control of the lineout, stifling Ngamatapouri's set-piece attack, and the steady boot of first five Dane Whale, who slotted two penalties to keep his team clear.
Without a breath of wind, where the ball was kicked was where it went, and Ngamatapouri's Brook Tremayne also slotted conversions from the sideline to keep his side in touch.
As well as the heart-stopping final play, the other ultimately decisive moment came midway through the first half with Taihape in control, when Seruwalu took a pass off the deck to slash through the cover and seemed certain to score in the corner.
Taihape's Tiari Mumby, barely half Seruwalu's size - if that - motored across from the far side and kamikaze-dived right into the giant's legs to send him crashing down right in front of the flag.
To add further insult to wounded pride, the slippery Mumby found a way under a heap of tryline defenders, after his fellow forwards were held up, to give Taihape what proved a crucial 19-7 lead at halftime.
"He had a standout game, Tiari, he's a good winger, probably the hardest guy to tackle in Whanganui, and if he gets fit, there's no reason he can't push for higher honours," said Taihape coach Tom Wells.
Working hard to build a competitive squad that can often be injury-prone and infringement heavy, Ngamatapouri coach Danny Tamehana was proud of his side to have held back such a strong set-piece side for as long as they did, giving their speedsters the chance to all but snatch the shield.
"As close as that. It was a good game. Nerve-racking at times."
In a tighter five-team grade, Tamehana is confident they can cause an upset against at least one of 2021's semifinalists.
"Definitely. The boys have been together for three years now, we've had the exception of two players come in, with Kameli [Kuruyabaki ] and Peceli, but other than that it's the same guys.
"We're just finally starting to play some good rugby. We were unlucky today, but that's the way it goes."
Wells, a victim of Taihape's only loss to Ngamatapouri in 2017, took the same tack.
"No doubt they're going to tip some teams up.
"I thought our phase play and our pattern was spot on. We probably didn't respect the ball when we got down in their scoring zone, we probably turned over 4-5 pills where we could have put points on the board there.
"But that's just a fitness thing and rustiness. The systems were bloody good, the boys retained possession as best we could when they were on our ruck quite a bit, but the ref controlled that well.
"[Ngamatapouri] are going to run 60m on a lot of teams, so we scrambled pretty well, really."
Taihape 25 (J Vuetibau, G Hakaraia, T Mumby tries; D Whale 2 pen, 2 con) bt Ngamatapouri 19 (J Bogileka, E Delasau, R Haplin tries; B Tremayne 2 con). HT: 19-7.
