There is a significant trophy at stake in England in the next few weeks but the Otago team collected its own trophy last night.
Otago took back possession of the Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy which is played in games between Otago and Wellington.
Otago has not held it for seven years.
Mike Gibson was a centre who played for both Otago and Wellington in the 1980s. He died of cancer, aged just 27.
Otago coach Cory Brown said the significance of the trophy was not lost on the players after a visit from the Gibson family yesterday afternoon.
''There was about 12 of them [Gibson family] who came down from Bay of Plenty for the game. They had left early in the morning and came and spoke to us,'' Brown said.
''They explained what playing for Otago meant to Mike and what the trophy meant to them. He was tragically taken at a young age.''
The talk helped inspire Otago into a win which had all the hallmarks of what Gibson stood for.
The trophy was not played for last year, as Otago and Wellington did not play each other.
